Nemesis Book 1: The Lurking Chaos
by Count Morningstar
Summary: A revised version of my deleted story, Gundam SEED: Nemesis. Earth and the PLANTs are embroiled in another war, and not even Kira and Lacus can stop it. Even their own relationship is going down the drain due to the laws of the PLANTs. But things take a shocking turn when an enemy from the past reveals the true terror behind the war.
1. Shattered Future

**Introduction:** This is a story that I actually started working on back in January of this year. For those who remember, it was called Gundam SEED: Nemesis. Originally, that story was going to be broken into at least three or four different stories. But for reasons I can't quite recall. I decided to try and do the whole thing as a single story. And in the end, it started to seem like I had bitten off a little more than I could chew. So I decided to walk away from this story for a while, and after debating with myself for months I finally decided to just delete the story and repost it.

This is the same story that existed before. I'm just going to edit the chapters and add some more scenes here and there. And like I had originally planned, the whole story is going to be broken into at least three different books. This first book will obviously focus on Lacus and Kira, but will also deal a little with Athrun and Cagalli. So hopefully things will go a lot better this time.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Gundam SEED.

* * *

Chapter 1: Shattered Future

Kira Yamato sat out on a bench in a small park near the military base where he worked. It was the middle of the day and he had decided to go and take a small break outside in the hopes that it would brighten his rather dismal mood, but the grey overcast sky above promised little chance of that. Kira's attention was taken away from the sky by the sound of a loud digital chime that rang from one of the surrounding buildings. Right at that moment, Kira's green and yellow mechanical bird, Birdy, landed on his left shoulder. Meanwhile the large screen at the top of the building Kira was looking at began to display a woman newscaster with green hair wearing a red blazer.

_"This is Stephanie Blanc with the noonday news."_ The newscaster announced. _"Our top story today, negotiations between the PLANTs and Earth have once again come to a standstill as the third Bloody Valentine War now enters its sixth month. In a related story, tomorrow marks the anniversary of the event that started the war, the destruction of the Clyne Colony."_

Kira's violet eyes became filled with sadness as the screen cut to scenes of the aforementioned ruined space colony. And as he looked on he once again tried to figure out where it had all gone wrong. After then end of the second war it had seemed that peace had finally come to both Earth and the PLANTs, and that the human race was ready to become as one again. That was the dream that Kira, his friends, and the love of Kira's life, Lacus Clyne, all fought for in the first two wars. And a whole year after the war that dream seemed like it was finally coming true with the creation of the Clyne Colony, a small colony created to be the home of the people of both Earth and the PLANTs.

The colony of course was named in honor of Lacus and her family, and the era of peace that Kira had helped her forge. But a year later that peace was shattered when an unknown mobile suit came and obliterated the colony. Out of the sixty-five thousand people that lived in the colony, only a mere four hundred and fifty survived. When the dust had all but settled, ZAFT had determined that the mobile suit that attacked the colony was from the Earth Alliance. But the people of Earth denied that the mobile suit was from them and claimed that it was actually a ZAFT mobile suit, saying that they had evidence to that fact.

Endless arguing between the two parties began, arguing that not even Lacus could stop. Then a week after the colony's destruction, a rogue ZAFT ship launched an unprovoked attack on an Alliance base. The Alliance responded in kind with another attack, and soon enough a third war began. And it seemed that not even Kira and Lacus could do anything to stop it.

_"In lighter news,"_ Stephanie Blanc continued on the screen, snapping Kira from his thoughts, _"the wedding date for Supreme Council Chairwoman Lacus Clyne and Councilman Martin Helios has finally been set for this Saturday at noon."_

That was the other nail in the coffin for Kira. Originally when Lacus had become chairwoman of the PLANTs and he a ZAFT commander in order to ensure peace, neither of them had anticipated that they might have to adhere to the marriage regulations that the PLANTs had in place in order to keep the population up. And only six months ago, it seemed that whatever committee in place to enforce these regulations had decided that Lacus was genetically compatible with that man, Martin Helios. Of course Kira and Lacus wanted to fight this decision, but with a war raging on around them, they decided it best not to rock the boat. So as much as they both hated it, they went along with the regulations.

"You look like you're in a good mood." A voice sarcastically spoke, getting Kira's attention.

Kira turned his head and saw standing a few feet away a young man with black hair and ruby red eyes wearing a red ZAFT uniform with an unbuttoned collar. This was one of Kira's friends, Shinn Asuka. Kira and Shinn's friendship was an interesting one, as they were on opposing sides in the second war. Though they had not actually met each other until after the war was over, save for a brief encounter at a memorial in Orb.

"Hey there Shinn." Kira greeted as he tried his best to put on a smile. "I didn't expect to see you here."

"The Minerva is docked here for awhile to re-supply. I had a few hours and decided to swing by and see how you were doing." Shinn explained as he went over and sat next to Kira on the bench. "Kinda gloomy weather out here today."

"Yeah, the colony's weather system has been malfunctioning for the last week or so." Kira revealed. "It's actually been happening in all the other colonies too. We've been getting a lot of rain because of it."

"…I guess you heard already that a date's been set for Lacus and that guy to get married." Shinn mentioned after a moment. "How do you feel about that?"

"How do you think I feel?" Kira answered bitterly.

"No, I mean aren't you going to try and put a stop to it?" Shinn asked.

"It's not that easy Shinn." Kira told him.

"Like hell it isn't!" Shinn snapped as he suddenly got to his feet. "Why the hell are you going along with these dumb regulations? It's not like they're actually helping anyone! I've heard the birthrate for Coordinators is still going down!"

"Lacus and I don't have a choice in this matter!" Kira retorted as he also got to his feet, startling Birdy off his shoulder. "Fighting the marriage regulations right now would only cause more problems. This is what's best for the PLANTs."

"Bullshit!" Shinn argued. "Both you and Lacus are being idiots about this!"

"Look Shinn…" Kira began to respond, but his thoughts were disrupted when he felt a sort of flash go off in his mind.

"Excuse me, Commander Yamato?" a voice suddenly spoke, causing both Kira and Shinn to turn.

Standing behind Kira was a man who looked to be in his early twenties wearing a green ZAFT officer uniform. He stood at over six feet and had very fair skin and blonde hair that almost seemed to shine like spun gold and iron-grey eyes that almost seemed to spark like lightning.

"I better get going before I get charged with striking a superior officer." Shinn decided before storming off.

"I hope I didn't interrupt anything." The blonde said to Kira with an apologetic expression.

"Nah, you're fine." Kira assured him. "Just who are you again?"

"Lieutenant Gar Thorson, sir." The blonde greeted as he saluted. "I was assigned as your aid last night. I hope you'll forgive me for not showing up early, but I was unavoidably detained. Shall we be getting back to your office sir?"

"Yeah, I guess it's about that time." Kira sighed.

"Are you all right sir?" Gar asked, looking a little concerned.

"Yeah, just having a bad day." Kira replied.

"Sir, permission to speak freely." Gar requested.

"Yeah, go ahead." Kira replied feeling a little uncomfortable, as he had never really liked being treated as a superior officer or giving orders.

"I couldn't help but overhear some of your conversation with that young officer. And I have to say I agree with him." Gar admitted. "Your relationship with Chairwoman Clyne is well known by many in the PLANTs and on Earth. And it was that relationship that helped bring an end to the first two wars. Would it not be better for you to stay together?"

"As I was about to tell Shinn before he left, Lacus and I can't afford to fight the marriage regulations." Kira told the blonde with clenched fists. "If we did that… the PLANTs would become divided. And things are bad enough right now with the war. That's why… Lacus and I have no choice but to go along with this, no matter how much we hate it. We have to make this sacrifice."

"The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few, in other words." Gar commented. "How very noble of you both. But there are times sir when the needs of the few outweigh the needs of the many, that what is best for one, or in this case two, is best for the society as a whole. You and Chairwoman Clyne seem to be far stronger leaders together than apart. And it seems to me that the human race as a whole would have far better chances if the two of you together were leading them."

"There was a time when Lacus and I thought that too." Kira chuckled darkly. "But look where we are now. C'mon, we should be getting back."

"Of course sir." Gar replied.

* * *

Rain was coming down quite heavily in the country of Orb. And the country's ruler, Cagalli Yula Athha, was stuck in her office doing her least favorite activity, paperwork. She would've thought that with all the people at her command she'd be able to dump some of this work on a few of them. But then running a nation was not an easy job, and as tedious as the task was it did keep Cagalli's mind off of everything else that was going on.

Cagalli was distracted from her work by a sudden knock on the door. "Whoever it is, come on in."

The door opened and walking in was a young woman who looked to be in her early twenties. Her height was about four and a half feet, and she had fair skin and short blonde hair that was like spun gold. Behind her large red-framed glasses was a pair of iron-grey eye. Her outfit consisted of a short-sleeved pine green jacket with a white blouse and a pine green skirt that ended just above her knees. The young woman had a very nervous expression on her face.

"Well, who are you and what do you want?" Cagalli asked in an impatient tone.

"Oh, uh… good day, ma'am." The young woman greeted. "My name's Tara Thorson. I'm your new secretary starting today."

"New secretary? What happened to Margaret?" Cagalli asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Oh, well I don't know for sure ma'am." Tara answered. "But um, the rumor is that she won the lottery and retired early so she could live like a queen. Those are the words of one of my coworkers, not mine."

"Whatever." Cagalli sighed. "If that's all, then get out of my hair so I can finish all this."

"Well, actually there are a couple of other things, ma'am." Tara informed her. "First, the defense secretary wants to speak with you later this afternoon. Also, you've been invited the wedding of Chairwoman Lacus Clyne of the PLANTs."

At this, Cagalli's expression saddened. "I see… that's six months from now, right?"

"Yes ma'am." Tara confirmed. "Shall I inform them that you'll be attending?"

"Yeah… I guess it would help keep things friendly between us and the PLANTs." Cagalli decided. "Plus there's going to be someone there who I'm sure could use my support."

"Who might I ask is that, ma'am?" Tara inquired.

"…Never mind." Cagalli answered after a moment. "If there's nothing else, please leave."

"Of course, Lady Cagalli." Tara bowed before quickly leaving the room.

Cagalli sighed and turned her attention to the two pictures on her desk. The first was of her late father. The second was of a young woman with brown hair holding two infants. The woman was Cagalli's biological mother, and the other child she was holding was Cagalli's bother, Kira. It was only three years ago when Cagalli was in a similar situation to the one Kira had landed in with Lacus. During that time, Cagalli had been forced into an arranged marriage to a man she didn't love or even like. And that marriage had done permanent damage to her relationship to someone she truly did love.

Cagalli could only imagine the pain that Kira was going through. It was probably the same sort of pain that the man that she was in love with went through back then. Of course there was a difference between Cagalli's situation and Kira's. Back then, Cagalli was able to get out of her arranged marriage when Kira crashed the wedding in his mobile suit and abducted her. Cagalli wished that she could do the same, but she knew that wouldn't go down as well. All such an act would accomplish was cause trouble between the PLANTs and Orb. This time, they were all truly powerless.

* * *

Late afternoon had come to the PLANTs, and a worn out Lacus had returned to her office after another long meeting with the Supreme Council. Rain began to pour down outside her office window as the pink-haired woman sat down at her desk. Lacus then sighed and rubbed the bridge of her nose. She then reached over and pressed the intercom button on her desk.

"Akiko, please hold all my calls for the next ten minutes." Lacus requested.

"Of course Madam Chairwoman." Replied the voice of Lacus's female secretary, Akiko. "Oh, and I was supposed to remind you about another meeting you have in thirty minutes with the finance minister. Do you want me to move it to another time?"

"…No, it can't be helped I don't think." Lacus sighed.

"As you wish ma'am." Akiko replied over the intercom.

Lacus turned her chair to face her office window. As she watched the rain pour down outside, Lacus began to reflect on all that was going on. Needless to say, she was not having the best week. Negotiations between Earth and the PLANTs had once again failed, and the conflict between both powers was only getting worse. And even though she was chairwoman of the council, Lacus was having trouble controlling them. Lacus had always believed that all that was needed was to decide what needed to be done and then just do it, but since the destruction of the Clyne Colony that had proven to be difficult to do, especially when some of the other council members would fight her.

Plus it had seemed like many of Lacus's decisions since the start of the war seemed to blow up in her face. One of the most disastrous of those decisions was when she attempted to send a peace envoy to Earth, only to have him killed by an Alliance mobile suit. Needless to say, Lacus had begun to doubt her capabilities as a leader. The other thing that was troubling Lacus at that moment was her impending marriage to Martin Helios. She had known it was coming for quite sometime, but with the date finally set it suddenly became very real. A wedding to a man she didn't love was the last thing the pink-haired songstress of the PLANTs wanted, but it was clear she didn't have any choice. At least not without causing more problems. But Lacus wished with all her heat that she were marrying Kira.

Suddenly there came a knock on the door that stirred Lacus from her thoughts. "Come in."

Slowly the door opened, and walking in hesitantly was a woman with long blue hair wearing glasses with red frames, a short-sleeved yellow sweater, and a green skirt that went past her knees.

"What is it Akiko?" Lacus asked

"Sorry for the interruption ma'am, but this item was just delivered to you." Akiko explained as she held out what looked like a black rose and a card.

Lacus stood up and took both items from the secretary. She then opened the small card to read what it said. The only thing written on the card was, _'See you soon.'_

Suddenly a sort of flash went off in Lacus' mind and a chill ran down her spine. She quickly turned around to look out the window, expecting to see someone standing behind her. Yet when she turned she saw nothing.

"Ma'am, is something wrong?" Akiko asked.

"…Uh, no. It's nothing." Lacus assured her after a moment. Though the pink-haired songstress did not take her blue eyes away from the window. "Thank you Akiko, that'll be all for now."

"Ma'am." The bluenette said with a bow before turning and leaving the office. After a moment Lacus finally turned away from the window and sat back down at her desk.

* * *

In a dark room on the top floor of a building right across from Lacus' office, a man in the shadows grinned as he watched Lacus through a pair of binoculars. He was quite pleased that Lacus had received his little gift, and amused that Lacus seemed able to sense his presence. Satisfied with his work, the man put away his binoculars and left the room.

* * *

Evening had come and the rain had finally stopped. Gar had stepped outside the building well away from Kira. After making sure he was alone, Gar pulled out a device that resembled a white cell phone. After pressing a single button, Gar put the phone up to his ear.

"Come in Agent Fifteen." Gar spoke into the phone.

_"Reading ya loud and clear Agent Fourteen."_ Replied a young-sounding female voice on the other end.

"Anything to report Tara?" Gar asked.

_"All's quite down here."_ Tara answered. _"Though I have to say, it's a miracle that Orb has stayed together with such a hothead as their leader."_

"She's proven to be quite capable in her duties as chief representative in the past." Gar reminded her.

_"Yeah, I guess."_ Tara admitted. _"And things do seem pretty peaceful with her in charge. Still, I kinda wish something would happen. So far this mission's bee one big yawn. Did you ever think we'd be stuck doing this sort of thing when we joined the CIA?"_

"All of our missions are important, Tara. Even if they aren't exciting." Gar pointed out.

_"Yeah, yeah."_ Tara replied. _"But even so, I don't get why HQ put agents like us on this mission. We aren't even sure if there's really anything going on here."_

"It's not out place to question Headquarters." Gar told her in an almost scolding tone. "For now, just continue to observe and report. For all we know there could be a genuine crisis here."

_"Okay, okay!"_ Tara responded. "_You don't have to bite my head off. So how are things on your end?"_

"Not well actually." Gar admitted. "It seems that with all that's happened with this war, Mr. Yamato and Ms. Clyne have been losing hope. At least that's the impression I'm getting."

_"Then maybe we should tell them what really started this war."_ Tara suggested.

"We can only do that as a last resort." Gar reminded her. "And as you said before, we aren't even sure if there's really a crisis here."

_"True, but isn't part of our mission to make sure those two hook up?"_ Tara asked. _"How 'bout this? We just get those two together, get them both hammered, and just let nature take its course."_

"I keep telling you that won't' work." Gar told her as he rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Besides, we can only do so much right now, if anything at all. But you are correct little sister. It is in the best interest of the human race if Kira Yamato and Lacus Clyne become their leaders. Even so, for now we can only watch and provide guidance if we can."

_"Then I guess we'll just have to do the best job of that we can."_ Tara sighed. _"Take it easy, big brother."_

"You as well Tara." Gar told her before hanging up.

* * *

**Author's Note:** For this first chapter I added the scene between Cagalli and Tara. That scene wasn't in the original version. One mistake I made with the original version was that I probably focused a little too much on Kira and Lacus. Of course one problem with adding that scene was it probably blows away some of the mystery behind the Thorson siblings. But at the same time it also allows me to give Tara a few more scenes in this story.

Please review and let me know what you think.


	2. Strange Gifts

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Gundam SEED.

* * *

Chapter 2: Strange Gifts

Another gloomy day had begun as Kira entered his office at the ZAFT military base in the capital colony of Aprilius. Once of the thing that Kira disliked about his post was the fact that he had been kicked behind a desk when the third war began. Not that he wanted to partake in any actual combat if he could help it, but he felt that he could do far more than he had been. But it seemed that the military had felt that Kira could best serve them at his current post. So even though he was a commander in ZAFT, Kira didn't seem to have any real power.

As Kira turned on the light in his office, he noticed what looked like a ceramic clay figure on his desk. It was an interesting looking statue with an almost sparkling silvery white glaze. Its appearance seemed ancient, yet its design resembled something like a robot. The hips of the clay figure were wide and it had short arms and legs. But the most interesting characteristic of the figure was its eyes. Its eyes looked almost as though it was wearing a pair of goggles, and each lens had a horizontal slit in the middle.

"Hey Gar, could you come in for a minute?" Kira called as he went to his desk and picked up the figure to examine it more closely.

"You wanted to see me sir?" Gar asked when he came in. His eyes widened in surprise though when he saw the statue that Kira was holding.

"Do you know who left this on my desk?" Kira asked.

"…Uh no, I'm afraid not." Gar answered after a moment. "That's a Dogu, is it not?"

"Yeah, I've only seen pictures of them though." Kira replied as he admired the small statue. "How much do you know about them?"

"Only what I've read in books." Gar replied. "They were made during the country of Japan's Jomon period, and their use remains unknown to this day. Though there are theories that they were used in fertility rights or in rituals to cure disease. And there is also the theory that… that they were modeled after alien astronauts who came to explore Earth thousands of years ago."

"Is that what you believe?" Kira asked, catching Gar a little off guard.

"Why do you think that sir?" Gar replied.

"Well you kinda hesitated when you mentioned the thing about aliens." Kira noted.

"I only hesitated to speak of that theory because I thought you wouldn't appreciate hearing of something so outlandish." Gar explained.

"I dunno, I think it might be possible." Kira responded as he continued to look at the Dogu. "I mean it does look a little strange. In fact I think it almost looks like a mobile suit. Plus there is evidence of life out in space. Like that space whale fossil at the Supreme Council building."

"…Then perhaps you might be interested in another theory I once read about the Dogu." Gar hesitantly revealed. "The theory is that the Dogu were actually modeled after robotic probes sent to Earth by a highly advanced alien civilization."

"That's a new theory to me." Kira spoke as he placed the Dogu back on his desk. "Well, I don't know who sent me this thing, but I kinda like it."

"Um, if you'll excuse me sir, I just remembered an important phone call I have to make." Gar told him.

"Go right ahead." Kira replied. Gar then saluted and quickly left the office.

* * *

Tara yawned as she started filling out another bit of paperwork at her desk. Of all the assignments she had been on, the job of posing as Cagalli's secretary was one of the most boring. Though it did have its charms. Tara was a little amused by how Cagalli would sometimes chew out her underlings. The yelling in her office at someone on the phone could occasionally be heard all the way out in the hallway. Though there wasn't much yelling going on that morning. The day was still young, but there hadn't been any calls to Cagalli's office so far. Deciding that she needed a bit of a break, Tara leaned back in her chair and put her legs up on her desk.

_"Come in Agent Fifteen, come in!_" a voice called from the white cell phone-like device hanging from her belt. _"Pick up Tara!"_

Tara yawned as she brought the phone to her ear. "What's up bro?"

_"There's been a major development."_ Gar informed her. _"Kira Yamato has received a Dogu."_

"No way! Are you sure it's real?" Tara asked as she quickly took her feet off the desk and sat up. "I mean it could be just another knock-off made by ancient humans."

_"I can assure you, it's genuine."_ Gar told her.

"Then that means _they're_ involved." Tara realized. "And if they're involved, it means there really is a major crisis going on here. What do we do now?"

_"What we have been doing. Only now we must be more vigilant."_ Gar answered. _"Continue observing Orb, and inform me right away if you see more Dogu."_

"Roger that." Tara replied before hanging up.

Tara sighed as she leaned back in her chair again. It seemed that the mission that she and Gar were on had jut become a lot more interesting.

* * *

A light rain showered down on the countryside of Orb as Athrun Zala drove his car down the road. In moments he had arrived at his destination, a small but very well kept two-story house with a single garage. Athrun parked his car in the driveway before to open door of the garage. As Athrun got out of his car, carrying a brown package under his right arm, he could see a man with long blonde hair inside the garage working over the open hood of an old powder blue sports car. Upon Athrun's arrival, the man turned his head to look back at him, revealing his battle-scarred face. This man was of Athrun's comrades from the last two wars, Mu La Flaga.

"There you are, kid." Mu greeted. "I was starting to wonder if you weren't going to show up."

"Sorry I'm a little late." Athrun replied.

"Don't worry about it. So did you find that part I asked for?" Mu asked.

"It's right here." Athrun confirmed as he held up the package he was carrying.

"Great! Why don't you put it over on the workbench over there?" Mu requested.

"So I'm guessing this item is for that car you're working on." Athrun assumed as he put down the package.

"Yep. I've been working on restoring this baby for months." Mu grinned. "It won't be long before it's done."

Just then the door connecting the inside of the garage to the house opened up. Walking into the garage was a woman with long brown hair wearing a plain lavender t-shirt and blue jeans. This was Mu's wife and another of Athrun's old friends from the war, Murrue.

"Well hello Athrun." Murrue greeted. "Mu mentioned to me that you were coming over today. Care for something to drink?"

"That'd be nice. Thanks." Athrun agreed.

"Hey honey! Athrun just brought over the last part I needed for the engine." Mu informed Murrue. "Soon this baby will be ready for the open road."

"Great, now we can look forward to all the speeding tickets you'll probably be getting with that thing." Murrue sarcastically replied.

"Oh c'mon Murrue. You know I'm more responsible than that." Mu assured her.

"Uh-huh." Murrue responded with crossed arms. "I'll be right back."

"So, I heard a date was finally set for Lacus' wedding." Mu recalled after Murrue left the room.

"Yeah… so did I." Athrun replied.

"I feel real bad for Kira. This whole thing must be hard on the poor kid." Mu assumed. "Have you been in touch with him at all?"

"I'm afraid not." Athrun sighed. "I haven't been able to get a hold of him since the war started heating up. I do know how Kira must be feeling right now. I went through it myself."

"Oh yeah, an arranged marriage broke up you and Cagalli during the last war." Mu recalled as he wiped the sweat from his brow. "Hey, if you don't mind me asking, how come you and Cagalli never got back together? I mean it's not like she's been arranged to marry some other guy."

"It's complicated." Athrun told him as sadness filled his emerald green eyes. "But… we've pretty much both moved on. Or at least she has."

"If you say so. But I think you're both being stupid." Mu commented.

Murrue reentered the room carrying a large brown package in her hands. "Hey Mu? The mail just came with a package for you."

"I wonder if it's that custom hood ornament I ordered." Mu assumed as he went over and took the package.

"I don't know." Murrue replied. "There's no return address."

Mu removed the brown wrapping paper, revealing a plain white cardboard box. Upon opening the box from the top, his face went pale and he dropped it to the floor. The contents of the box tumbled out, revealing it to be a black mask with red lines designed to cover the top half of a person's face. Murrue's face went pale upon seeing the mask as well.

"What's wrong?" Athrun asked.

"That… that mask." An unsettled Mu spoke. "It's…"

"It's the mask Mu wore during the second war." Murrue finished.

Suddenly it was all making sense to Athrun why the mask was causing them so much distress. Before the start of the second war, Mu had been brainwashed into becoming a masked Earth Alliance captain named Neo Roanoke, and had been put in charge of a group of child super soldiers known as Extendeds. As Athrun looked down as the mask, he noticed something else that was on the ground with it.

"There's a card with this." Athrun informed the other two as he bent down and picked it up.

"Well? What does it say?" Mu asked.

"It seems the two of us aren't so different after all." Athrun read as he looked at the card. "There's no signature."

"What does it mean?" Murrue wondered.

"I don't know." Mu replied. "But if this is someone's idea of a sick joke, I'm not laughing."

* * *

It was another rainy evening, and Lacus had just returned home to her family mansion after another miserable day. Upon entering the house, she was greeted by her bouncing menagerie of Haros. That day had been the anniversary of the start of the war, and because of that Lacus had to attend another memorial service in honor of the destroyed Clyne Colony. It broke Lacus' heart that a space colony named in honor of her and her family was slaughtered, and that its destruction was being used as a reason to go to war. But Lacus decided to put it out of her mind and try to get some rest, as the rest of her week only promised to get worse.

Just as the pink-haired songstress was about to head upstairs to her room, she glanced and spotted a plain brown package on the table by the door. Out of curiosity, lacus picked up the package and unwrapped it, revealing a white box with a card taped to the lid. Lacus detached the card in order to read what it said.

_'To commemorate the death of peace.'_ Read the writing on the inside of the card.

Lacus noticed that the writing was like that of the card she had gotten with the black rose the previous day. She certainly did not like the grim message on the card, but Lacus proceeded to open the box. Upon looking inside though, Lacus let out a short scream and dropped the package to the floor. What was inside of the box was a dead mutilated white dove with its heart torn out. The newspaper lining the inside of the box was covered in the bird's blood.

As soon as Lacus had screamed, two of her bodyguards rushed into the room. Lacus promptly told them about the package with the dead dove. Once the bodyguards had moved Lacus to the sitting room of the mansion her entire security detail had begun a massive search of the grounds. Twenty minutes after the incident a man entered the room to talk to Lacus. He walked with a cane and had brown hair and a left eye that was scarred shut, and wore a simple black suit and tie. This was the head of Lacus's security detail, the famed war veteran, Andrew Waltfeld.

"Well, we've searched the entire estate from top to bottom and found no trace of the bastard that left that sick joke." Mr. Waltfeld reported. "I don't know how the hell he could've gotten in here to deliver that package."

"I think I should tell you now that I had received a black rose that came with a note." Lacus revealed. "It had the same handwriting as the note that came with that package I found."

"And why am I just learning about this now?" Mr. Waltfeld snapped.

"At the time I didn't think that rose was anything to worry about." Lacus told him. "But I guess I was wrong."

"Look, I'm sorry I yelled at you like that." Mr. Waltfeld sighed. "But I can't protect you unless I know what's going on."

"Of course." Lacus sighed. "So what now?"

"The only thing we can do is just beef up security both here and at the supreme council building." Mr. Waltfeld replied. "Maybe you should get some rest. You do have another meeting with the council tomorrow."

"That was what I was planning to do before this happened." Lacus told him as she got up from the green couch she was sitting on.

"Oh, one other thing." Mr. Waltfeld added just as Lacus was about to head out of the room. "I know this is the last thing you want to hear, but I don't think you should mention any of this to Kira. I mean given all that's going on…"

"Yes, you're probably right." Lacus agreed, cutting him off. She then continued to head out of the room, but stopped again when a flash went off in her mind and she felt the same sort of chill down her spine as the day before.

"Something wrong kid?" Mr. Waltfeld asked.

"…No, I think I'm just tired." Lacus answered after a moment before finally leaving the room.

* * *

Right across the street from the mansion, a man stood under a streetlight holding an umbrella in his left hand. With his right hand he held a pair of binoculars, which he used to look at Lacus through the mansion windows. He smiled and began laughing to himself when he saw that Lacus had once again sensed his presence like the day before when he sent the rose.

"Wait until you see the surprise I have in store for you tomorrow, Ms. Clyne." The man chuckled as he put away his binoculars. Satisfied that he had accomplished what he had come to do, the man began walking away from the mansion.

* * *

**Author's Note:** A review I had gotten for the original version of this chapter said that it was uninteresting. And at the time I was inclined to agree. It was pretty weak. So for the new version I added that scene with Athrun meeting with Mu and Murrue, which I hope makes it a bit more interesting. At the very least, it's made for a longer chapter. Anyway, things will pick up much more in the next chapter, so stay tuned.

In the meantime, please review and let me know what you think.


	3. I Won't Hold You Back

**Author's Note:** I'd like to take a moment and thank Fuyu Aki for the review of the last chapter. It was also suggested in that review that I change the genre of this story from sci-fi to drama. If it was solely a drama story, I'd agree. But trust me, this story is going to get very sci-fi real soon. Anyway, the title of this chapter, _I Won't Hold You Back_, is also the title of a song by the band Toto. It's one of my favorite songs by them, and it's a song I felt sets the whole tone of this chapter. Listening to the song is of course not a requirement for this chapter, but I do suggest those of you reading give it a listen at some point if you haven't heard it before. It's very good.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Gundam SEED.

* * *

Chapter 3: "I Won't Hold You Back"

It was another rainy day as Kira rode in the back of a car to the Supreme Council building for a meeting. As Gar drove the car though the pouring rain, Kira focused his violet eyes out the window, though he wasn't looking at anything specific. His mind was clouded with too many thoughts. Kira knew that there was a good chance that he'd run into Lacus, and with her upcoming wedding Kira felt that it would be too painful to be near her. Noticing Kira's mood, Gar flipped on the radio hoping for something that would take the brown-haired commander's mind off his current problems.

_"Our top story this morning, Evidence 01 was stolen from the PLANT Supreme Council building last night."_ The male voice on the radio reported. _"Authorities are currently baffled as to how the famous space whale fossil retrieved by George Glenn was taken, as there was no sign of a break-in. In the lighter side of the news, guests from all over the PLANTs have already begun to gather for the wedding of the century between Chairwoman Lacus Clyne and…"_

"Gar, please change to something else." Kira requested.

"Of course sir." Gar replied as he quickly flipped to another station on the radio.

The song that played on the station that Gar had turned to was a rather depressing song that Kira remembered quite well. That same song was playing on the radio the evening that he and Lacus had decided to spit up for the good of the PLANTs. Kira could remember that moment as if it were yesterday.

* * *

_Six months earlier, Kira stood leaning against the stone fence in Lacus's backyard watching as the sun set over the artificial landscape. The portable radio that he and Lacus had brought outside was playing as Lacus walked over to join him. Both were silent for what seemed like a long time as the music played._

_"…So… you're going to go through with it?" Kira asked sadly, finally breaking the silence between them._

_"…I don't really have a choice." Lacus finally answered after a moment. "Fighting this decision would only cause more problems. And with a war going on we can't afford to make any waves."_

_"But… it isn't right!" Kira declared as he finally turned to face Lacus. "I mean… why do you have to marry someone else when…." At this point Lacus put her hand on Kira's._

_"I know this is the last thing either of us wanted Kira. But we have to do what's best for everyone." Lacus told him. Kira took his hand away and looked down at the ground, anger filling his violet eyes. "I'll always love you Kira. And I know this isn't easy, but this is a sacrifice we just have to make."_

_Kira was silent for a long time. He kept thinking about the whole twisted situation that he and Lacus were in, and what Lacus had just said. And after a moment the more rational part of his mind made him realize that Lacus was probably right. They had to play along with the marriage regulations to preserve peace in the PLANTs._

_"…I really do hate this you know." Kira finally spoke before turning back to look at Lacus with a tearful smile. "But… I guess if it's for the good of the PLANTs then… we just have to learn to accept this."_

_Lacus approached Kira again and soon their faces were only inches away from each other. But just as they were about to kiss, Lacus suddenly pulled away at the last second. She then quickly walked away from Kira, and as she did Kira could swear that she was crying._

* * *

Gar looked at Kira in the rearview mirror and saw a single tear running down his left cheek. Finally noticing the sad tone of the song, Gar quickly changed the radio to another station.

_"You're listening to KLSD, Stardust Radio."_ A female voice on the radio announced. _"And now, here's an old hit from Supreme Council Chairwoman Lacus Clyne."_

"Uh, perhaps it would be best to leave the radio off." Gar suggested as he quickly shut down the infernal device. "We are almost there after all. Perhaps it would be beneficial if we went over today's itinerary again."

"Gar, could you just shut up for awhile?" Kira requested.

"Of course sir." The golden-haired lieutenant sighed. At that moment Gar wanted to shoot the car radio for making Kira's mood worse, but he held himself back. He realized that no matter what he could do, Kira was in for a very bad day.

* * *

It was another gloomy day in Orb. For the last few months the country had experienced nothing but grey skies and rainy days. Athrun had gone to the memorial dedicated to those who had died in Orb during the first war. He would often come there to think about things, and there was much on his mind that day. For one thing there was the unsettling package that Mu and Murrue had received the day before. But mostly, Athrun's thoughts were on Lacus' impending wedding. Not only was he worried about Lacus and Kira, the whole situation was bringing back some unpleasant memories for him.

"Hey there." A very familiar voice greeted, stirring Athrun from his thoughts. Athrun turned and saw Cagalli standing only a few feet away.

"Uh, hi." Athrun greeted back. "I… wasn't expecting to run into you."

"Same here." Cagalli replied. "I just needed to get away from the office for a bit. So… how've you been?"

"Fine I suppose." Athrun answered. "You?"

"I've been busy." Cagalli responded. "So I guess you've heard about Lacus' wedding."

"I think everyone in the PLANTs and on Earth has heard." Athrun pointed out.

"I wish there was something we could do for Kira and Lacus." Cagalli told him.

"I do too. But our hands are pretty much tied." Athrun reminded her. "What really gets me though is that this is exactly what happened to us."

"Sometimes I think that the responsibilities we have are kind of a curse." Cagalli admitted. "Seems like we've all had to sacrifice our own wishes for the good of everyone else. First us, now Kira and Lacus."

"You could be right about that." Athrun agreed. "But then maybe this is the price we all have to pay for peace."

"Well it's one hell of a price." Cagalli declared.

"Hey Cagalli… do you ever wonder what would've happened if I hadn't run off and rejoined ZAFT during the last war?" Athrun asked.

"…It probably would've ended the same way." Cagalli assumed. "Even if you had stayed and fought for me, all it probably would've done is cause a scandal. You followed your heart back then."

"Yeah, and look how that turned out." Athrun bitterly reminded her. "But… do you think that we still have a chance?"

"I don't know." Cagalli answered. "…I think I better be getting back. I'll see you around Athrun."

"Yeah… see ya." Athrun replied.

With that, the two headed off in opposite directions. As Athrun left, a single tear rolled down his cheek.

* * *

Kira and Gar had finally arrived at the supreme council building. But when they got there, they had found that the council was still in a meeting. They waited for two hours as the meeting went on, and the whole time Kira had been pacing around the large room that once housed the giant fossil of Evidence 01. Kira knew that he'd probably run into Lacus as soon as the door opened. At long last the meeting had ended, and as soon as the doors burst open, Lacus emerged still surrounded by a few other members of the council. But in seconds the group dispersed, and there stood Lacus alone before Kira. They stood there looking at each other for several seconds, but to Kira it felt like an eternity.

"…Uh, hey there." Kira greeted after a moment. "How're you doing?"

"Fine, I guess." Lacus answered. "How've you been Kira?"

"Okay I suppose." Kira replied as he rubbed the back of his head. Just then Kira noticed the somewhat worried expression on Lacus' face. "Lacus, is something bothering you?"

"What? No, I'm quite all right." Lacus assured him with her usual smile. Though Kira could somehow sense that she wasn't being honest.

"Well now, sorry that took so long, Lacus dear." A voice suddenly interrupted. "But you know how Defense Chairman Vargas can get when he's talking. I swear that man is in love with the sound of his own voice."

Kira, Lacus, and Gar all looked and saw walking towards them a man who looked to be in his early twenties stood about six feet tall and had short dark hair and green eyes. He wore the blue coat worn by civilian members of the council. Kira's hands balled into fists the moment he laid eyes on this man, for he was Lacus' fiancé, Martin Helios.

"Anyway, I hope I didn't keep you waiting long." Martin continued.

"Not at all Martin." Lacus assured him. "I was just talking to my friend, Kira." Kira felt like he had been hit in the chest when Lacus merely called him her friend, but he hid his reaction quite well.

"Ah yes, the famed Kira Yamato. Lacus has told me so much about you." Martin greeted as he suddenly put his arm around Lacus' shoulder. It took every amount of Kira's willpower to keep himself from punching Martin in the face. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you."

"Ah, there you are Commander Yamato. So sorry for the delay." A voice suddenly spoke.

Walking towards the group was an older man who looked to be in his late forties. He had slicked back grey hair and very pale skin. His eyes were olive green and almost reminded one of a sewage river. The man wore a purple and black ZAFT uniform, indicating that he was part of the Defense Ministry. Kira knew this man as the current Defense Chairman, Ian Vargas.

"Uh, not at all Chairman Vargas. I understand." Kira replied.

"I see you've finally met Chairwoman Clyne's fiancé." Vargas observed. "They make quite a pair, don't they?"

"If you'll excuse us Chairman, the chairwoman and I have to get going." Martin interrupted. "Wedding arrangements and all. Plus we have a date later this evening."

"Of course, of course." Vargas replied. "You two have a good evening. I look forward to attending the wedding this weekend."

Martin then walked away with Lacus. It was taking all of Kira's restraint not to rush after them.

"I do realize how difficult this must be for you, Yamato." Vargas spoke, getting Kira's attention. "I know you and Chairwoman Clyne became an item during the first two wars, but this is the way it has to be for the good of the PLANTs."

"Yeah, I know." Kira replied with sadness in his eyes.

"With all due respect, Chairman Vargas, why does it have to be this way?" Gar suddenly asked.

"Well that's obvious. Ms. Clyne has the best chance of producing a child with Mr. Helios." Vargas answered. "And it's in the best interest of the PLANTs that the Clyne family continues on. Besides, if the chairwoman of the council failed to follow marriage regulations, just think of the bad example it would set for our citizens. People would stop following them, and if that happened our population would cease to grow."

"There is an alternative to the regulations though." Gar noted. "If the Coordinators and the Naturals were to become one again, there would be no need to worry about a declining population."

"Don't be absurd!" Vargas responded rather angrily. "I'm not saying of course that Coordinators and Naturals shouldn't blend of course, but there is little chance of that happening. I'm sure that to many here in the PLANTs, the idea of consorting with those who have been our enemy would be unthinkable. Besides, we tried that with the Clyne Colony and look what happened. The fact is that Coordinators and Naturals aren't ready to become one people again, and perhaps they aren't meant to."

"The evidence in Orb would seem to contradict that notion." Gar retorted.

"Look, whoever you are! I did not come here to debate marriage regulations!" Vargas told him. "I asked Commander Yamato here to meet with him about a new military offensive. So if you'll excuse us."

With that, Vargas began to walk off. Kira shrugged to Gar and followed after. As they walked off, Gar narrowed his iron-grey eyes suspiciously at Vargas.

* * *

The evening rain had stopped, and Lacus and Martin were out on their date. After the council meeting, Martin had accompanied Lacus to a dress fitting for the upcoming wedding, much to Lacus' dislike. Once the fitting was done though, Lacus had returned home for a much-needed break from her unwanted fiancé. But only three hours later, Martin returned and they had gone out to dinner. It wasn't so much that Lacus disliked Martin. She thought he was a good man. But Martin talked far too much about himself for her taste, and the simple fact was that Lacus found Martin boring. Still, it seemed that Lacus had no choice but to learn how to love him.

There was something else that had been bothering Lacus that whole evening though. And that was her little encounter with Kira at the council building. The last thing she wanted was for Kira to see her together with Martin, and she was certain that she hurt Kira when she told Martin that he was just a friend. Though Lacus knew that there really wasn't any way to avoid that. And there was one other thing that troubled Lacus about the encounter. She had wanted to tell Kira about the disturbing gifts that someone had been sending her, but of course she knew that she couldn't. With the way things were, it was best for Kira not to know anything about it.

At last the date had come to an end, and Martin was escorting Lacus to the front door of her home. They stopped right in front of the door and turned to face each other.

"I had a wonderful time as always Lacus." Martin told her. "Just think that very soon you and I won't have to be doing what we are now. We'll be living in the same home."

"I'm looking forward to that." Lacus lied.

At that moment, Martin leaned in for a kiss, much to Lacus' displeasure. But Lacus knew that she had to bite the bullet and play along. Just as the pink-haired songstress was about to meet Martin half way though, a flash went off in her mind and she felt a chill run down her spine. It was the same feeling Lacus had the previous two nights. Suddenly there was a loud bang and Lacus felt something splash onto her face. It took a moment for Lacus to realize that the liquid that had splattered onto her face, and the front of the powder-blue dress and blue jacket she was wearing, was blood. She looked down and saw Martin's body on the ground slumped against the door. He had been shot in the side of the head.

"I'd think you would be glad that this happened. As I know that the last thing you wanted was to marry that man." A shockingly familiar voice spoke. "But then I realize how much you hate death and destruction. Where as I have no qualms about taking a human life."

Hesitantly Lacus turned her head and saw standing but a few feet away a man wearing a white ZAFT uniform with white gloves. He was holding the very gun that had shot Martin in the head. The man had pale blonde hair that went just past his shoulders, and a distinctive white mask covered the top half of his face. Lacus knew who this man was very well. She had only met him briefly during the first war after her first encounter with Kira, but it is hard for one to forget a person who walked around all the time wearing a mask. It was the man who since the end of the first war had haunted Kira in his dreams, a man who wished for the extinction of the entire human race. But what frightened Lacus though was that she knew for a fact that the man standing before her was supposed to be dead, for Kira had killed him with his own hands at the end of the first war. Yet there the masked man was, standing right there looking very much alive.

"I trust that you received the little gifts I sent you Chairwoman Clyne. Just my little way of saying hello." The masked man spoke as he advanced. "It occurs to me though that though we met briefly once, we were never properly introduced. Allow me to correct that. My name is Rau Le Creuset."

* * *

**Author's Note:** Well, I'm sure those of you unfamiliar with the original version of this story probably weren't expecting the chapter to end this way. One of the main reasons I began this story originally was because I couldn't find any Lacus and Kira stories on this site with Le Creuset as the main villain. I'm sure many are wondering how Le Creuset could've come back from the dead. Well the answer is in the next chapter, which is already up. So go ahead and check it out.

And if you like, please review and let me know what you think.


	4. The Horror From Beyond

**Author's Note:** The nice thing about this story is that all the chapters for this first book are mostly done. They just need a bit of editing. This particular chapter didn't require very much editing, and I just couldn't wait to get it up.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Gundam SEED.

* * *

Chapter 4: The Horror From Beyond

Lacus woke up to find herself on her feet without her blue jacket and her arms stretched above her. Upon looking at her surroundings the pink-haired songstress saw that she was in a dimly lit room directly under a bright spotlight, her arms strung up by some sort of thin metal cable. Lacus also noticed that a few feet away from her across the room was a large fossil of a skeleton that looked like a whale with wings, which she recognized as the stolen Evidence 01. While trying to figure out exactly where she was, Lacus suddenly remembered just how she had gotten into her current predicament. She remembered seeing Martin shot in the head right before her eyes and quickly recalled Le Creuset was the one who had shot him. The last thing Lacus could remember after that was the masked man suddenly rushing her and hitting her in the head with the handle of his gun. Her head was still throbbing in the spot where he hit her.

"Ah good, you're finally awake." A familiar voice spoke. Lacus turned her head and saw Le Creuset sitting in a chair in a dim corner of the room, drinking what looked a cup of tea. "I was actually starting to worry that I had hit you a little too hard."

"Where am I?" Lacus asked.

"Right now we're in an abandoned space station known as Observation 1." Le Creuset explained as he set his cup and saucer on the small table next to his chair and got to his feet. "This place was set up by your predecessor to research deep space. Ah poor Gilbert. He was a brilliant man, but perhaps rather naive. It was a rather ambitious plan he had to put an end to this world of endless desires of ours. But I wonder if it really would've worked? Would it really have been possible to remove humanity's desires by altering their genes? After all, wouldn't an animal in a cage always wonder about what's outside?"

"Who are you?" Lacus demanded to know.

"I already told you who I am, my dear." Le Creuset replied as he walked into the light.

"You can't be Rau Le Creuset!" Lacus argued. "Le Creuset died at the end of the first war."

At this Le Creuset chuckled and turned to walk towards the fossil. "A magnificent specimen, don't you agree Ms. Clyne? Evidence 01, the proof that life exists in the reaches of outer space. But little did George Glenn know that he had only scratched the surface with this find."

"What are you talking about?" Lacus asked.

"I am saying that the universe is filled with far greater wonders than just a simple flying whale, and those wonders have been revealed to me." Le Creuset began as he turned back to face Lacus. "Only a split second before my mobile suit was destroyed by the death blow of GENESIS, I suddenly found that I was no longer inside it. Instead some force was pulling me through a strange tunnel of light. My first thought of course was that I was on my way to the afterlife, if such a thing exists of course. But instead I found that I was rescued from the jaws of death by a powerful force beyond imagination.

"Everything began to change after that. You wouldn't believe the level of medical technology of those who rescued me. It is on such a level that it makes even the technology of the Coordinators look as primitive as using leaches. My very DNA was altered to correct my flawed aging. Much of my organs were replaced, partly to repair the damage done during my last battle, and partly to make it easier for me to survive on their world. And I was awake for the whole thing, you couldn't imagine the level of pain I experienced.

"When it was all over I fell into the deepest sleep I had ever experienced. When I awoke they told me I was out for two months. But during my long sleep they showed me dreams that revealed the truth about the universe. Would you like me to share that truth with you Ms. Clyne?"

"Do I have a choice?" Lacus asked sarcastically, completely convinced that the man standing before her was totally insane.

"The truth my dear is that our world is not the only one filled with endless desires." Le Creuset claimed. "In my vivid dreams I saw thousands of other worlds whose inhabitants destroyed themselves through endless conflict. They brought about their own extinction, and rightfully so, because they deserved to die. And after I had been shown all this and I awoke, those who brought me back came before me. They told me that I was rescued so that I could become their agent of chaos and finish what I had started with our world."

"Do you really expect me to believe that?" Lacus told him.

"Oh I'm sure you don't believe me Ms. Clyne. In fact you must think that I am mad." Le Creuset laughed. "And perhaps I am mad, but if I am then so are we all. For the universe itself is insane! It is nothing more than a swirling mass of chaos that serves no purpose but to exist! But I assure you my dear that everything I have told you is true. And you will soon see the proof with your very own eyes"

"And just what is this proof you have?" Lacus demanded to know. But suddenly as if in answer to her own question she heard a sort of flopping, squishing noise that sounded almost like footsteps.

"Ah, here comes out honored guest now." Le Creuset observed with a mad grin.

Lacus listened as the flopping noise slowly came closer, and soon she could smell an odor that she could only describe as that of rotting fish. The stench became more potent as the sound came closer and closer. Then at last from a doorway on the left side of the room came a thing that made Lacus go pale. It was a creature that stood about six feet tall and did not at all look human. It probably had something that resembled a humanoid body, but it was wearing black robes that covered much of its form.

Lacus was very grateful for that, for it would've been too horrid to see the thing's full anatomy. But what Lacus could clearly see though was that the thing had an octopus-like head with a pair of large yellow eyes and tentacles surrounding its mouth. Its skin was green like slime, and it had four tentacles for arms. Hanging around its neck from a silver chain was a strange green medallion with fins on the sides and three vertically aligned red gems on the front. The largest of the gems had a black mark down the center that made it resemble an eye with a slit pupil.

"Ye eh chloth, High Emperor." Le Creuset greeted as he crossed his arms over his chest like a mummy.

"Chloth yel yikak, Le Creuset." The thing greeted back in a slimy voice. "I trust everything is going as planed."

"Of course sir." Le Creuset replied before turning back to Lacus. "Chairwoman Clyne, may I present Cha-Cathock, High Emperor of the Yulock."

"Ah, so this is the leader of the faction of these human insects known as the Coordinators." The thing known as Cha-Cathock noticed as he flopped over far too close for Lacus' comfort. The thing's stench became unbearable. "I had no idea that she was such a… pretty specimen."

Suddenly Cha-Cathock tore off the front of Lacus' top with his tentacles, revealing the pink bra she was wearing underneath, causing her to yelp. The alien creature then began to rub his four tentacle arms all over Lacus' upper body and even fondle her breasts. Lacus didn't scream though. She was far too terrified to do so.

"Yes, a very pretty specimen indeed." Cha-Cathock commented. "I would be very interested in using this one to try some interspecies mating."

Lacus' eyes went wide upon hearing this, for she knew very well what that thing was implying. At that moment she wished her mind could just leave her body and go far away. She wanted to suddenly wake up to find that she was only having a nightmare, but it felt far too real to be one.

"But unfortunately I am far too busy at the moment for such pleasures." Cha-Cathock said as he suddenly withdrew his tentacles, much to Lacus' relief.

"If you like, I can deliver her to you once I've finished with Kira Yamato." Le Creuset offered.

"Good, good." Cha-Cathock praised with a sort of fiendish glee as he flopped back over to the masked man's side. "It seems that this operation is going to be far more profitable than I thought. Let me know as soon as you're done with that nuisance, Kira Yamato. And… bring the girl with you if you can."

"Of course." Le Creuset replied with a bow.

With that, Cha-Cathock slowly left the room. Lacus was very relieved when the thing was out of sight. But she knew that the nightmare was far from over, for she was still a captive after all.

"Well, it seems you made quite an impression on my friend." Le Creuset observed as he walked up to Lacus. "You might be seeing him again fairly soon. But then again that all depends on what happens with Kira. I did of course capture you in order to lure him here. But then who knows if he'll even come to your rescue. You did reject him for a man you didn't even love, after all. But then even if he does come, there's no way he'll be able to defeat me, so the result will be the same either way. I'll leave you for now to contemplate your fate."

With that, the masked man walked out of the room laughing, leaving Lacus right where she was. Tears began to stream down Lacus's face as soon as he left. She wanted to go into a corner and curl up into a ball at that moment. But with the way she was tied up, she couldn't even do that. And what hurt the pink-haired songstress the most was that she knew that Le Creuset was probably right. There was a very good chance that the one man who could save her, the one man she loved, wouldn't lift a finger to do so. Why would he after tossing him aside for some pointless regulations?

At that moment, one name escaped Lacus' lips in the form of a whisper, "Kira."

* * *

**Author's Note:** I suppose another genre that could apply to this story as horror. The inspiration behind Cha-Cathock and his people, the Yulock, came mainly from the works of horror author H.P. Lovecraft. The general appearance of the Yulock is based a good deal on Lovecraft's iconic creature, Cthulhu, and Cha-Cathock's "interest" in Lacus was inspired by the Deep Ones from Lovecraft's story, _The Shadow Over Innsmouth_. By the way, the medallion Cha-Cathock was wearing is the symbol that appears on the cover art for this story.

Please review and let me know what you think.


	5. Temptress

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Gundam SEED.

* * *

Chapter 5: Temptress

Pandemonium had erupted in the PLANTs since the previous evening. Lacus' disappearance and the murder of her fiancé had quickly spread throughout the colonies. The authorities had no clue as to who had committed the deed. There were no witnesses to the crime, as almost all of Lacus' security detail had been killed. All except however for one man. And that very morning Kira immediately rushed to the hospital to speak with the man who might know something about who might've taken Lacus. When Kira burst into the survivor's hospital room, he found Mr. Waltfeld wide-awake and sitting up in his bed. The scarred war hero turned his head to look at Kira.

"I had a feeling you'd be showing up." Mr. Waltfeld sighed.

"What the hell happened Mr. Waltfeld?" Kira angrily demanded to know.

"Look kid, before you jump down my throat, I don't know what happened!" Mr. Waltfeld told him. "The last thing I remember was being shot in the back, I don't know who it was. The guy must've gone after me first. I'm lucky his shot just missed my heart."

"So you really don't know what happened?" Kira asked, disappointment filling his violet eyes.

"No, and believe me kid, I feel almost as bad about this as you." Mr. Waltfeld said sadly. "It was my responsibility to protect her after all. When did you find out about this?"

"Last night I got a visit from the police." Kira answered. "It looked like I was their prime suspect. Fortunately I was with my aid, Gar, when it happened."

"Well I hope you're not planning to do anything stupid." Mr. Waltfeld told him. "Right now it's just best to let the police handle this."

"You expect me to just sit back while someone has Lacus captive and might be doing who knows what to her?" Kira asked angrily as if the very idea was absurd.

"Hey, I don't like this any more than you do. Hell, I'd rather be out there leading the search myself instead of lying here. But we can't just go out there guns blazing like in the old days." Mr. Waltfeld pointed out. "All we can do is just sit back and wait."

"Sound advice if I ever heard any." A voice interrupted. Kira and Mr. Waltfeld looked to see Vargas entering the room. "Ah, what a pity it is to see the famed Desert Tiger is such a state. How're you doing Waltfeld?"

"Well Chairman Vargas, all things considered I'm guess I could be doing worse." Mr. Waltfeld admitted. "But this hospital won't even let me have a cup of coffee. Of course the stuff they have here is probably terrible anyway."

"Well, I'm sure you'll be up and around again in no time." Vargas said encouragingly. "In the meantime, you just get your rest. We're going to need you at your best once Chairwoman Clyne is found. And as for you Yamato, I believe you have duties at the base to attend to."

"I'll be leaving in a few minutes, sir." Kira assured him. "Mr. Waltfeld is an old friend of mine."

"Of course, of course. I forgot for a moment that you two fought together in the last two wars." Vargas recalled. "Well, I should be off. I'm glad to see you're recovering Waltfeld." And with that, Vargas left the room.

"I never could stand that Vargas." Mr. Waltfeld commented. "I still don't get why he decided to put someone like you behind a desk."

"Neither do I." Kira admitted. "But that's just how it is I guess. Well, I guess I should be going too. I'll see you later."

"Don't worry kid, I'm sure Lacus will be fine." Mr. Waltfeld said just as Kira was about to leave the room.

"Yeah, I hope so." Kira said before leaving.

* * *

Outside the hospital, Gar was pacing around with a clam yet angry expression. At one point he went over and punched one of the stone pillars lining the sides of the path into the building with such force that a large crack formed.

"Come in Agent Fourteen." A voice called from his communicator. Gar put the device to his ear.

"I'm here Tara. What have you to report?" Gar asked.

"Only that the abduction of Lacus Clyne has made the news down here in Orb." Tara replied. "Not to mention the murder of that drip she was engaged to."

"It's my fault. I should've been keeping a better eye on her." Gar spoke as he clenched his left hand into a fist.

"Hey big bro, don't start beating yourself up now." Tara told him. "For one thing, we don't even know that she's dead. What you have to do is stay focused, and keep your eye on Kira Yamato. Whoever took our pink-haired princess we'll probably go after him next."

"I suppose you're right." Gar admitted with a sigh. "Let me know if something happens in Orb."

"You know I will." Tara assured him.

* * *

Athrun stood on the beach looking out at the waves under the gloomy grey sky. The news of Lacus' abduction had already spread to Orb. Athrun had not felt so powerless since the start of the second war. Back then Athrun wanted desperately to help the people of the PLANTs. That was why he had rejoined ZAFT, even though it had proven to be a mistake. This time was much different though. For one thing it wasn't simply the PLANTs that were in trouble. It was Lacus and Kira, his two closest friends. And this time not even rejoining ZAFT could solve anything.

"I figured I'd find you out here." A voice spoke, stirring Athrun from his thoughts. Athrun turned to see Mu approaching.

"I guess you've heard, huh?" Athrun deduced.

"Yep." Mu confirmed. "When one of the world's leaders gets kidnapped, everyone hears about it."

"I wish there was something I could do." Athrun admitted. "I want to fly out there right now and turn over every rock to find Lacus."

"Believe me kid, I know just how you feel." Mu assured him as he put his hand on his shoulder. "Hell, Murrue and I even talked a little about firing up the Archangel again to do just what you're talking about. But things aren't that simple. All we can do now is wait. Don't worry, I'm sure that ZAFT will find Lacus safe and sound."

"Yeah, well given the way things have been lately, you'll forgive me if I don't have much faith in that." Athrun gravely pointed out.

* * *

Cagalli paced circles around the center of the office, trying to resist the urge to throwing something against the wall. She too had gotten the news that Lacus had been abducted. What was really getting to Cagalli was that even though she was the leader of a nation, even though she had armies of loyal soldiers equipped with top of the line military equipment, she was still powerless to do anything about finding Lacus.

Suddenly there was a knock on the door, causing Cagalli to turn. "What!"

The door opened and Tara nervously walked in. "Um, excuse me ma'am. But the agriculture secretary is on the line."

"I'll talk to him when I'm damn good and ready!" Cagalli shouted.

"Is everything okay ma'am?" Tara asked.

At this, Cagalli's expression softened. "Sorry for snapping at you Tara. I'm just worried about Lacus."

"You must be very good friends with the chairwoman." Tara observed.

"The truth is I wouldn't be the leader I am today if it wasn't for Lacus." The blonde ruler admitted. "I just… can't stand not being able to help her."

"With all due respect Lady Cagalli, you do have people here who need your help." Tara reminded her.

"…You're right Tara. I still have a country to run." Cagalli realized. "Now then, you said the agriculture secretary is on the line?"

"Yes ma'am, on line one." Tara confirmed.

"Then I guess I better take it." Cagalli decided. "That will be all for now."

"Yes ma'am." Tara nodded before leaving the room.

* * *

Kira sat at his desk at the base, looking over some papers. But he was having an incredibly hard time staying focused. Kira couldn't believe that he was doing paperwork while Lacus was somewhere probably afraid and in pain. Suddenly the phone on his desk rang, giving Kira a very welcome distraction.

"Commander Yamato speaking." Kira answered into the phone after picking it up.

_"Hello Kira. It's been a long time, hasn't it?"_ Le Creuset's voice greeted on the other end. Kira's blood ran cold as the masked man began to laugh maniacally into his ear.

"Who… who are you?" Kira demanded to know.

_"I think you know the answer to that, my boy."_ Le Creuset replied. _"By the way, Chairwoman Clyne and I are having a lovely time together."_

"What the hell have you done with Lacus you psycho?" Kira shouted.

_"Why nothing at the moment."_ Le Creuset assured him. _"We'd be delighted if you'd join us though. I've already sent you the coordinates of where we are to the computer in your office. I don't think I need to tell you what'll happen if you don't come alone. I'll be waiting Kira."_

With that, the line went dead. Kira slammed to phone down and turned to his computer. Sure enough, he found a message from an unknown source with some coordinates in space. After memorizing them and finding out just what they were of, Kira turned off his computer, got up from his desk, and stormed out the office. Seconds after Kira left the room, the Dogu that was on his desk suddenly glowed with a white light and vanished.

* * *

Le Creuset put an odd green mobile phone-looking device into his pocket. With his call to Kira finished, the masked man went to go check on his prisoner. From the doorway he could see that Lacus was still standing where she was, her arms still bound in the same position. He noticed the forlorn expression Lacus had on her face, and it gave him a rather fiendish idea.

"Come now my dear, you needn't give up hope yet. Your champion is on your way to rescue you." Le Creuset revealed as he entered the room, causing Lacus to perk up a little. "Of course, there's no guarantee that he'll get here."

"What do you mean?" Lacus asked.

"You see my friends have set up a little obstacle for him." Le Creuset explained as he suddenly grabbed Lacus' chin, his lips curved into a sinister smile. "It will be interesting to see if he makes it past. Between you and me I'm rather hoping he does, for nothing would please me more than to kill Kira by my own hands. But I must admit that there's very little chance of that. It's a very enticing trap I hear, and after the way you tossed him aside I wouldn't be surprised if it caused Kira to forget all about rescuing you."

With that, Le Creuset let go of Lacus and walked out of the room laughing. Once the masked man was out of earshot, Lacus began to cry again.

* * *

As Kira rushed down the highway in his car, his mind kept racing trying to figure out just who had really taken Lacus. He couldn't believe that it was Rau Le Creuset. He had killed the masked man with his own hands, and it nearly cost him his life. Kira thought that perhaps that the man he spoke to was only imitating Le Creuset's voice, or perhaps the culprit was even another Al De Flaga clone. He had fought one who was apparently a friend of Shinn's at the end of the second war. Yet despite these possibilities, Kira could not help but shake the feeling that he had spoken to the real Rau Le Creuset.

At that moment though, Kira didn't give a damn about who had taken Lacus or even if he was walking into a trap. All Kira cared about was saving Lacus. But to do that, he needed to get something. He had found in his office at the base that the coordinates led to an old abandoned space station, and the fastest vehicle that could get him there was his old mobile suit, the Strike Freedom. Unfortunately, the Freedom was being held in a hanger that was a good ways away from the base he worked at. Which meant an agonizingly long drive, but after what seemed like forty minutes Kira had finally arrived at his destination.

Once he had parked his car, Kira quickly went into the base. It was easy enough for him to get in due to his rank. Though he had a feeling that even with rank, getting to the Freedom would be harder. After passing through at least five checkpoints within the base, Kira finally reached the zero gravity level, and door that would lead him to the main hanger. The two guards saluted Kira as he walked up.

"How can we help you, commander?" one of the guards asked.

"I came here to take a look at my old mobile suit." Kira explained. "Mind letting me in?"

"Sorry, no can do commander." The second guard replied. "Any other day, you might've gotten in. But we got word from Defense Chairman Vargas not to let you pass. It's a shame too, actually. I heard that they're decommissioning the Freedom tomorrow."

"I see." Kira replied as he turned a little as if he was about to leave. "Well in that case…"

With incredible speed, Kira tackled the second guard on the left side of the door to the ground and knocked him out. Then just as the first guard pulled out his gun, Kira rushed him, knocked the gun out of his hand, and then knocked him out with a right cross to the jaw. Having dispatched the guards, Kira used their passkeys to open the large metal door before him. Once through the door, which had slammed shut behind him after he had passed through, Kira found himself in a long metal corridor. It would not be long before he reached the Freedom.

"Kira?" a very familiar voice spoke, greatly startling him.

Kira turned around, and he could not believe his eyes when he saw the person that was hovering before him in the zero gravity. It was a young woman who looked to be in her early twenties. She had long reddish-brown hair and wore a simple pink dress. Kira knew exactly whom the young woman was quite well, yet he knew that it was impossible for her to be standing, or rather floating, right there before him. It truly did seem to be raising the dead, for the young woman had been killed by Le Creuset himself during the final battle of the first war, along with a few other poor souls who were only trying to escape the battleship, Dominion. Yet there she was alive and well.

"F-Flay?" Kira spoke to the young woman who he knew as his former love, Flay Allster.

"That's right Kira, I've come back to you." The young woman who seemed to be Flay confirmed.

"But, how?" a very confused Kira asked.

"Does that really matter?" Flay asked as she came towards him. "All that matters is that I've come back to you."

"But…" Kira tried to speak. But before he could say any more, Flay pinned him against the wall and placed a finger over his mouth to silence him.

"Don't talk now." Flay whispered. "Just relax. Let me take care of you."

Before Kira knew it, he and Flay were locked in a kiss. And it felt very real to Kira. In fact he had remembered just how good it felt to kiss Flay. He had to admit that even though Flay had died, and that their relationship didn't end on the best of terms, he still had feelings for her. It seemed that one never truly gets over their first love. But almost as Kira pulled Flay into an embrace, he suddenly remembered Lacus and how much he loved her. And he remembered that somewhere at that moment Lacus was in the hands of an evil man that would kill her without a second thought. Realizing what he was doing, Kira pushed Flay away.

"Why did you do that?" a very hurt Flay asked.

"I'm sorry Flay…" Kira spoke as he looked away from her. "But even though you're somehow back, I can't be with you. There's someone else."

"It's her, isn't it?" Flay angrily assumed. "That pink-haired Coordinator tramp! Why the hell are you wasting your time with her after she dumped you for someone else?"

"Lacus didn't have a choice about that." Kira argued. "Look Flay, the bottom line is that I love Lacus. And right now she's in danger and I have to help her. Besides, it ended between us a long time ago. I'm sorry."

Suddenly from Flay's mouth came a horrific inhuman noise that caused Kira to turn and look at her again. His violet eyes widened in horror as Flay suddenly morphed into a loathsome green entity with an octopus head, yellow eyes, and four tentacles for arms. The thing roared at Kira again, but just as it was about to lunge at him, Kira felt a flash go off in his mind. A second later, someone struck the creature from behind, knocking it to the floor. Kira was greatly surprised to see that the person who attacked the creature was Gar.

"I see, so the Yulock are behind all of this." Gar observed. The alien creature looked up at Gar, snarled, and then vanished in a flash of red light. With the thing gone, Gar turned his attention to Kira. "Are you all right sir?"

"What… was that thing?" a very shocked Kira managed to ask.

"That will have to wait I'm afraid." Gar replied. "Did it harm you?"

"No, but… it made itself look like someone I used to know."

"What you saw was an illusion." Gar explained. "The person you thought you saw was never there. It was only that creature."

Kira suddenly had to hold back the urge to vomit. The idea of that vile-looking thing with its tentacles wrapped around him and his lips touching that octopus face was a little too much. He couldn't believe he had let the thing kiss him, or even believed that he thought Flay had returned from the dead. Kira also felt as if he had just betrayed Lacus for allowing it to happen.

"Sir, we need to hurry if we wish to save Ms. Clyne." Gar reminded him, snapping Kira back to reality.

"Yeah, you're right." Kira agreed after managing to regain his composure. "Let's go."

In a few more moments, Kira and Gar made it to the inside of the hanger. And standing before him was the large humanoid robot that was Kira's mobile suit, the Strike Freedom. Kira was pleased to see that his old machine looked to still be in good condition.

"I'll go get things ready for you to launch." Gar told Kira. "You should go prepare as well."

Kira nodded and headed for the locker room. Inside he found his old locker, which he found had not been touched since he was there last. Within the locker he found his old flight suit and helmet, which he quickly changed into. Once changed, Kira headed back out to the Freedom and got inside the cockpit. After turning it on, Kira checked to make sure all the systems were in order.

"Your machine is armed and ready sir. And the hanger doors are open." Gar reported over the Freedom's communicator. "You may launch when ready."

"Thanks Gar." Kira replied. "But I have to ask, who are you? And how did you know about that thing?"

"I'm afraid there is no time for me to answer those questions sir." Gar responded. "But please know that I have come to help both you and Ms. Clyne. Now go to her, and good luck."

"You too." Kira told him before activating the ignition system. "Kira Yamato, Freedom! Let's do it!"

With those words, the mechanical titan sprang to life and flew from the spot where it was standing. The machine's phase shift armor activated as it flew out hanger doors, changing it to its trademark colors. In mere seconds the Freedom had left the hanger and was flying at top speed to where Lacus was being held. Meanwhile in the control room, Gar was looking at the empty spot where the Freedom once stood.

"You will not be fighting this battle alone, Kira Yamato." Gar said to himself.

Suddenly Gar's body began to glow with a golden light, and in moments it faded to reveal that he was wearing a completely new outfit instead of the ZAFT uniform he was previously wearing. His new outfit consisted of a white coat that went down to just above his knees and buttoned on the left side of his chest with three silver buttons, along with black pants, white shoes, and silver fingerless gloves. Around his waist over the coat was a silver belt with an odd buckle with four different buttons on it like a control pad. Gar pressed one of those buttons, and suddenly a ball of gold light surrounded him. The ball of light then passed though the glass of the control room as if it was air and took off after the Freedom like a shooting star.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Back when I did this story originally, one review I had gotten suggested that I have Flay come back from the dead as well. While I didn't like the idea of doing a full resurrection on Flay, it did occur to me that the Yulock could use her image to mess with Kira's mind. A later review I had gotten said that the scene with Flay was creepy, and I hope very much that it still is.

Please review and let me know what you think.


	6. Nemesis Rising

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Gundam SEED.

* * *

Chapter 6: Nemesis Rising

It had taken Kira only sixteen and a half minutes to reach the space station where Le Creuset was holding Lacus captive. He could see that the station's hanger was open in waiting for his arrival. As the Freedom flew into the waiting hanger, Kira could see that no other mobile suits were there, which he took as a good sign. For if his enemy truly was Rau Le Creuset, the last thing Kira wanted was to get into another mobile suit battle with him. He had barely survived their battle at the end of the first war. But of course, even without a mobile suit, Kira knew that Le Creuset was still a very dangerous man.

As soon as the Freedom had landed, Kira prepared his sidearm and disembarked. The artificial gravity of the space station was on, so he had to use zip line to get out. He then stealthily rushed out of the hanger and into the dark hallway of the station, where it became a decision of whether to go left or right. Kira's instincts told him to go left, though he wasn't at all sure if that was the right way to go. But then he knew he would be able to tell just when he was getting close, for if it truly was Le Creuset he was dealing with, Kira would be able to sense him.

Sure enough after a few minutes of walking down the dimly lit corridor with his gun at the ready, a flash went off in Kira's mind and a chill ran down his spine. The young Coordinator knew very well what that feeling was, and he was certain that not even one of the creatures that had imitated Flay could recreate that sensation. Kira knew without a doubt that it was Le Creuset. But there was another sensation that Kira had felt at the same time he detected the masked man's presence. It was a warm nostalgic feeling that filled him with a sort of peace.

Kira thought about what this feeling meant, and then he realized just who he was sensing when a single name escaped his lips. "Lacus"

* * *

Still bound in the same position, Lacus suddenly felt a flash in her mind go off, and then suddenly felt a very warm familiar feeling wash over her. At the same time, Le Creuset smiled and got up from the chair he was sitting in.

"You can sense it too, can't you my dear?" Le Creuset asked as he walked over. "You can sense as well as I can that your champion has finally arrived."

_'He actually came for me?'_ Lacus thought to herself, a spark of hope filling her blue eyes.

"You shouldn't get too excited though." The masked man continued. "I guarantee you that Kira will not survive what I have in store for him."

* * *

Kira came to a doorway that led to a more brightly lit room. And he could tell that Lacus and Le Creuset were both in there. But just as Kira was about to try to sneak in he was greeted by a gunshot.

"So nice of you to finally join us Kira." Le Creuset called from inside the room. "I'm quite impressed that you were able to get past the little trap my friends had set for you."

Kira got by the door and moved his head just enough to peek into the room. Sure enough, Le Creuset was standing there holding a gun. And there was Lacus standing under a spotlight with her arms bound and held above her head. Kira quickly realized that if he fired into the room he'd risk hitting Lacus.

"Don't be shy now Kira. Come join us." Le Creuset called out of the room again. "Ah, I see. You're afraid I'll shoot. Don't worry, that shot from earlier was just my little way of greeting you. I didn't have you come all this way only to kill you with a gun."

A second after the masked man's claim, Kira heard the sound of a metal object hitting the floor. He peeked around the corner again and saw that Le Creuset had indeed dropped his gun. Slowly, Kira walked into the room with his own weapon firmly pointed at the masked fiend.

"There now, isn't this better?" a still very confident-looking Le Creuset asked.

"Let Lacus go, now!" Kira ordered.

"Come now boy, do you really think I'll release her that easily?" Le Creuset chuckled.

"If you don't… I'll shoot you." Kira warned, his finger tightening on the trigger.

"Will you now. Somehow I doubt that." Le Creuset replied, still looking very unafraid. "I know for a fact that you hate to kill, where as I can kill without a second thought. It's one of the things that makes us opposites."

"I will kill you if I have no choice." Kira told him.

"Then do it." Le Creuset dared. "Strike me down right here while I'm unarmed. That is if you have what it takes to kill someone who isn't able to fight back."

Kira's hand then began to tremble as he tried to squeeze the trigger. Try as he might, even with his hatred for the masked man before him, even with Lacus captured, Kira couldn't bring himself to fire at an unarmed opponent. After a moment, Kira dropped his arm to his side as Le Creuset began to laugh.

"I knew you didn't have it in you." Le Creuset taunted. "But then I suppose gunplay isn't your style. Why don't we engage in a style of combat that you're far more used to?"

The masked man then pulled from his pocket something that looked like a black pearl, which he then held in the palm if his hand before Kira. Suddenly there was a blinding flash of red light, and a moment later Kira found himself sitting in the cockpit of the Freedom. Even his helmet was back on his head. Suddenly the mobile suit's systems activated, and Kira found that the Freedom was floating back out in space out in front of the space station. As Kira tried to figure out what had just happened, a large ball of red light came from the station like a shooting star. The light then exploded, and emerging from it was another mobile suit.

The new machine bore a great resemblance to the mobile suit Le Creuset had used when he had originally fought Kira, the Providence, but was decidedly more organic-looking. It was primarily dark-red in color, with much of the chest armor being dark-green, and it looked as though it had armor like the exoskeleton of a crustacean. It's faceplate looked like the mandibles of a crab, and its eyes were bright green. In its right hand, the alien machine carried a long trident made of some sort of black metal, while its left arm ended in a large lobster-like claw. On the machine's back was a large circular pack that was of a black metal like the trident, and attached to the pack were seven long iron-grey spiral seashells.

"Impressive, don't you think?" Le Creuset's voice asked over the Freedom's communication system. "My friends, the Yulock, created this mobile suit for me based on the design of the Providence. They called it, the Nemesis. Let me show you what it's capable of."

Suddenly the seashell-like devices on the pack of the Nemesis launched and zoomed around the Freedom, surrounding it a different angles. The shells then began to fire red colored laser beams from their tips at Kira, which his managed to either dodge or block with the Freedom's large shield. Though one of the lasers had managed to hit the Freedom's right shoulder plate. But the damage seemed to be minor, and after the winged mobile suit weaved its way through the cage of lasers, Kira fired at Nemesis with the Freedom's rifle. The alien mobile suit simply turned slightly to dodge the attack, and less then a second later the seashell pods returned to the back of the Nemesis.

"Not bad, it seems you haven't lost your touch. Even with all that time being stuck behind a desk." Le Creuset commented. "But this battle has only just begun. Though before we continue, there's one other little feature of this machine that I'd like to show you."

Inside the cockpit of the Freedom, one of the screens on the control panel showed the Nemesis being identified as an Earth Alliance mobile suit, and that is exactly what Kira was seeing through the Freedom's cameras. A moment later, the screen began to read the Nemesis as a ZAFT mobile suit, and that was how it appeared on camera as well. Then a second later the Nemesis had returned to its original form and the Freedom's computer read the alien machine as an unknown mobile suit.

"What is this?" Kira demanded to know.

"It's one of the most advanced features of the Nemesis. To enemy sensors I can make it appear as an ally mobile suit, or a different enemy." Le Creuset explained. "Didn't you ever wonder why the Alliance claimed that it was a ZAFT mobile suit that destroyed the Clyne Colony while the PLANTs had evidence that the suit was from the Alliance?"

"Wait… you don't mean…" Kira suddenly realized with a horrified expression.

"That's right boy. And I say this now to both you and Ms. Clyne, for our little conversation is being broadcast to the space station. It was I who destroyed the Clyne Colony!" Le Creuset gloated. "I brought forth the catalyst for another war! And I was also the one who destroyed the peace envoy that was sent to try and speak with the Alliance!"

"But… all those people…" Kira spoke, still shocked by the revelation of what caused war. Anger began to rise up within him as the masked man laughed over the com-line. "How… could you? HOW COULD YOU?"

With that, the Freedom fired all of its weaponry at the Nemesis. In response, the Nemesis raised and opened the claw on its left arm and suddenly the massive blast of energy was pulled into it. Kira was shocked to see the alien mobile suit was completely unharmed.

"It seems I struck a nerve. Now take this!" Le Creuset called out as the Nemesis fired a bolt of purple electricity from its trident. Kira blocked the attack with the Freedom's shield, which exploded upon being hit. "Our battle is only beginning Kira! And when it's over you will be destroyed and I shall watch as the human race kills itself by its own hand!"

* * *

Lacus had heard what Le Creuset had revealed to Kira over the space station's intercom. She couldn't blame Kira, for lashing out in the battle like he had just done, for a part of her wanted to lash out herself. It was one thing to kill an enemy soldier of the battlefield, but to kill several innocent people without any good reason was unforgivable. Besides, Le Creuset wasn't someone who could be reasoned with, that much Lacus knew. And she also knew that if Kira went easy on the masked maniac, he would most likely be killed.

At that moment, Lacus wished with all her heart that there were something she could do to help Kira. But she knew that even if she wasn't bound up the way she was, there was little she could do. Lacus was snapped from her thoughts by another flash that went off in her mind, and suddenly the pink-haired songstress felt another presence near her. It was different from Kira and Le Creuset, it was not a threatening presence but Lacus felt the hair on the back of her neck stand up. Before Lacus could figure out who it was though, a golden spear suddenly flew in from the doorway and hit the wall behind her, cutting the cable that was holding her arms up in the process.

"Who's there?" Lacus asked, a hint of fear in her voice. In answer to her question, Gar walked into the room.

"You needn't be afraid Chairwoman Clyne. I mean you no harm." Gar assured her as he walked up. "My name is Gar Thorson, and I have come to help. If you'll allow me, I can free your hands from their bindings."

Hesitantly, Lacus raised her arms forward. Gar then got out what at first looked like a silver pen, and then cut the metal cable still tying her wrists together with a red laser. Once Lacus' hands were free, Gar put away his laser cutter and raised his right hand forward. A second later, the golden spear he had thrown suddenly returned to his hand. It was then that Lacus got a better look at the weapon. It looked to be made completely out of gold, and had what looked like small-feathered wings near the end of the head.

"What is that?" Lacus asked.

"This is the spear, Gungnir." Gar explained. "It is what you could call, a family heirloom, that was entrusted to me."

"Just who are you Mr. Thorson?" Lacus asked again. Before Gar could respond, Le Creuset's mad laughter sounded over the station's intercom.

"I'm afraid there is no time at the moment to explain any of that." Gar told her. "Right now I must go and assist Commander Yamato. The mobile suit Le Creuset is using was made using Yulock technology, which I'm afraid is more advanced than the Strike Freedom. For now, I request that you stay aboard the station, Chairwoman. I will attempt to return as soon as I can."

With that, Gar rushed out of the room. Lacus attempted to follow, but as soon as she got to the doorway, he was gone. Not wanting to remain in that room any longer, Lacus went down the corridor to her right until she came to a window. There she could see Kira's battle with Le Creuset, and from what she could tell it wasn't looking good.

* * *

The Freedom flew full speed at the Nemesis, firing its rifle. The Nemesis shielded the shots with its claw and deployed its seashell pods, which flew around and began firing at all angles. One pod managed to blow up the Freedom's rifle, while another destroyed the white mobile suit's lower left leg. The Nemesis then shot another bolt of electricity with its trident. The Freedom tried to block the attack with an energy shield generation from its left forearm, but the force of the energy overloaded the shield and caused said forearm to explode.

"This war is all your fault!" Kira shouted as the Freedom launched its blue wings from its body. The wings began to fire at the Nemesis, but the alien mobile suit dodged the attacks at the same time its seashell pods returned to their pack.

"All I did was remind both sides of how much they hated each other!" Le Creuset retorted as the Nemesis fired another blast from its trident. The Freedom managed to doge the attack just as its wings returned. "It was only a matter of time before war started anew!"

"You don't know that!" Kira yelled as the Freedom flew at the Nemesis with a beam saber in its only remaining hand. But the alien mobile suit caught the Freedom's sword arm before Kira could deliver a blow.

"I know better than anyone how the human heart works!" Le Creuset claimed. "One way or another, their desires would've taken hold and a new conflict would've begun! And you and that naive girl are fools to think otherwise!"

The Nemesis's claw crushed the Freedom's remaining forearm, and the resulting explosion sent the white mobile suit back a few feet. Kira then launched the Freedom's wings again, but the Nemesis launched its own seashell pods to counter the attack, destroying all of the wings. With their targets destroyed, the shell pods returned to the Nemesis.

"And now boy, your existence shall finally come to an end." Le Cresuet declared as he aimed the Nemesis's trident at the Freedom.

"Enough!" commanded a booming voice over the communication line. Both combatants looked and saw Gar floating in space above them surrounded by a golden aura.

"Gar?" a very surprised Kira exclaimed. "How're you…?"

"Who are you?" Le Creuset demanded to know.

"Someone who has come to put this world back on the right path." Gar answered as he pressed a button in the center of his belt buckle. "Take flight, Seraphim!"

In an instant there was a blinding flash of golden light. The light faded, and in Gar's place was a new mobile suit that looked similar to the Freedom, but with some obvious major differences. Its lower legs, forearms, and the armor around its waist and shoulders looked as if they were made of shimmering gold. The armor on the suits chest was colored burgundy, and upon its head was a gold helmet with feathered wings on the sides. Its face had only one eye, with the right eye covered by a silver plate as if it was destroyed in battle and never repaired, while the left eye shined like a golden star. In its right hand, the suit carried a giant version of the spear, Gungnir, and on its left arm was a large golden shield. On its back were ten white-feathered wings that glowed with an intense light.

The glowing mobile suit, Seraphim, flew down in between the Freedom and the Nemesis, and fired all of its weapons in a similar manner to the Freedom. But the Nemesis opened its claw and absorbed the attack. Le Creuset then fired the Nemesis's trident again, but Gar blocked the attack with the Seraphim's shield.

"You're clearly not human. But why would you defend the human race?" Le Creuset demanded to know he deployed the Nemesis's shell pods for another attack. "Surly you've seen all that they have done! So how could you think they have a right to live?" The Seraphim's ten wings launched off its back and fired back at the shell pods, destroying Nemesis's right lower leg and at least two of the shells.

"They are a young people with still much to learn." Gar retorted as the Seraphim's wings reattached themselves. "But in order to learn, they must continue to live. And neither you nor the Yulock have a right to judge them."

"I have every right to judge the human race!" Le Creuset claimed as the Nemesis flew at the Seraphim to spear it with its trident. The angelic mobile suit blocked the attack with its shield but was forced back. "For I am the product of humanity's twisted desires! I was created to fulfill the foolish hopes of a man who wished to cheat death, and so that another man could create a being that was the personification the human race wished to be!"

"And so you think that because you were created by these dark desires that you have the right to judge humans and brand them evil?" Gar asked as he fired the Seraphim's chest cannon. The Nemesis quickly moved out of the way to dodge the attack. "The human race is not as twisted as you think. It is true that they are capable of great destruction, but they also have a great capacity to create. Look at the peace that existed before you and the Yulock interfered."

"Yes, and look how easily it was destroyed!" Le Creustet pointed out as he launched the shell pods again and also fired the Nemesis's trident. The Seraphim evaded the trident blast and deployed its wings to counter the shell pods. "All it took was a destroyed colony and some misplaced blame and both sides were at their throats again like before! They chose to fight again, rather than seek the truth about what happened!"

The Seraphim's wings managed to destroy another shell pod before the projectiles from both mobile suits reattached themselves to their respective machines. Just then, the Freedom zoomed in and fired its chest cannon at the back of the Nemesis, doing minimal damage. The alien mobile suit then turned and fired its trident at the Freedom, but the Seraphim quickly came and intercepted the blast with its shield.

"I'm you're opponent now, foul one!" Gar declared.

"I see, so you're here to protect Kira." Le Creuset observed. "I'm guessing you're here to protect Ms. Clyne as well. Let's find out if you can protect them both."

Suddenly the Nemesis opened its claw and fired a massive beam of energy at the space station. Kira flew the Freedom into the path of the beam in the hopes of blocking it and saving Lacus. Gar tried to follow, but his path was blocked by another trident blast from the Nemesis. Inside the defenseless structure, Lacus watched in horror as the beam came at Kira. It looked like it was all over for the violet-eyed Coordinator, but suddenly something small flew into the path of the beam and absorbed the energy.

Once the energy had been absorbed, Kira could see that the thing that had blocked the attack was the Dogu from his office, glowing with a luminous white aura. As Kira tried to figure out what was going on, the Dogu suddenly grew to three times the size of the present mobile suits. The Nemesis fired on the Dogu with its trident, but the statue was unharmed. The Dogu retaliated by firing a ball of white light from its right arm, which the Nemesis barely managed to evade. The giant then statue turned to face the Freedom and the space station and opened its eyes, shining a massive beam of white light at both. When the Dogu shut its eyes again, the Freedom was gone, and Lacus had vanished from inside the station. Soon after, the Dogu shrunk into a ball of white light and zoomed away at an unbelievable speed.

"This isn't over!" Le Creuset declared as a black mist poured from the chest of the Nemesis.

When the black cloud faded, the Nemesis was nowhere to be seen. Inside the cockpit of the Seraphim, Gar pressed a button on the side of the silver helmet he was wearing.

"Come in Agent Fifteen." Gar called.

_"Fifteen here. What's up big bro?"_ Tara asked on the other end of the line.

"The Dogu just took Lacus Clyne and Kira Yamato." Gar reported. "Le Creuset also managed to get away."

_"Oh boy. Well, at least Kira and Lacus are in better hands. It certainly makes part of our mission a lot easier."_ Tara pointed out. _"But then who knows when they'll come back. Time doesn't have any meaning in that place you know."_

"I don't imagine that they'll be kept for too long." Gar assumed. "They are too important to the human race, after all. Until they return, we should keep an eye on Orb. I'll be joining you there shortly."

_"Ten-four big bro. Over and out."_ Tara replied. And with that, the Seraphim flew off towards the Earth.

* * *

On board a hidden Yulock ship, Cha-Cathock sat atop an odd red throne within a room with green coral-like walls. A brown membranous door in the room opened up, and through it looked a very displeased Le Creuset. The masked man angrily knocked a pot made out of an odd black stone off of a small table near the door.

"I understand your anger Le Creuset." Cha-Cathock spoke from his sitting place.

"What happened out there?" Le Creuset demanded to know. "Who were those beings that interfered?"

"The other mobile suit we detected was probably from an interstellar organization that frowns on our peoples' methods." Cha-Cathock explained as he got up from his throne. "As for the object that you encountered, that is from a people far more… mysterious."

"And these beings you speak of took Kira and that girl?" Le Creuset asked.

"I'm afraid so." Cha-Cathock confirmed. "But do not despair, my friend. Lacus Clyne and Kira Yamato will be returned eventually, and the mysterious ones can do only so much to interfere. When they come back, we will be more prepared to deal with Kira Yamato and his friends from that organization. In the meantime, this development does work in our favor. Our plans can go forward unhindered."

"…Yes, with Kira and the girl out of the way, they won't be able to interfere." Le Creuset realized. Just then an electronic gong-like noise sounded over the ship's intercom.

Cha-Cathock went back over and pressed a button on the arm of his throne. "Mgligehhh."

"Yeligek ver mglii." Replied an alien voice over the intercom.

"Chelu mvolk." Cha-Cathock replied in a commanding tone. A second later, the room's membranous doors stretched open and Vargas walked in with an angry expression.

"Ah, Chairman Vargas. Glad you could join us." Le Creuset greeted.

"What the hell were you thinking Le Creuset?" Vargas demanded to know. "Abducting Lacus Clyne? Killing her fiancé?"

"Why are you so upset? This does work in your favor, you know." Le Creuset pointed out. "With Ms. Clyne out of the way, you're next in line to lead the PLANT Supreme Council."

"But it's all so reckless!" Vargas argued. "I thought we had agreed to run the council through Lacus Clyne. She's a far more influential leader than I can ever be."

"Using Ms. Clyne as our puppet would not have worked for long I suspect." Le Creuset theorized. "The time had come to get her out of the way. And now you have a tragedy that can help you rally the people."

"Even so…" Vargas began to argue.

"Do not question Le Creuset, Vargas!" Cha-Cathock interrupted. "He is your superior. And I don't think I need to tell you the consequences for disobedience."

"Of, of course." Vargas quickly replied as he kneeled before Le Creuset and Cha-Cathock. "I am your loyal servant, my masters."

"Good, good." Cha-Cathock spoke as he sat back onto his throne. "Now then, the time has come to begin the next phase of our plan."

* * *

**Author's Note:** This was my first attempt at writing a mobile suit battle. I can see why a lot of the Gundam SEED fics on this site don't even include mobile suits. But I had written a few other types of battle scenes before doing this chapter originally, so I had felt like I was prepared. By the way, this whole chapter was originally two separate chapters. But when I considered how short one was to the other, I decided to merge them together.

Please review and let me know what you think.


	7. True Coordinators

**Author's Note:** In this next chapter comes a scene that warrants this story's M rating. You've all been warned.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Gundam SEED.

* * *

Chapter 7: True Coordinators

Kira found himself standing in a vast expanse of white light. He could see nothing else, not even the ground. In fact Kira wasn't even sure if there was ground beneath him, though he had to admit he seemed to be standing on something solid. Of course whether there was ground or not hardly answered Kira's questions about where he was or how he had gotten there. The last thing he remembered was piloting the Freedom when the Dogu he had supposedly received as a gift suddenly appeared, blocked Le Creuset's attack, expanded into a large machine, and shined a white light on him. The next thing Kira knew was that he had arrived at where he was, and there was no trace of the Freedom. Even his helmet was missing.

"Hello?" Kira called out, hoping that there was someone else there. "Is anybody out there?"

"Kira?" a familiar voice asked from behind. Kira turned around and saw Lacus standing right there before him.

"Lacus!" Kira happily exclaimed as he quickly went up to her. "Are you okay?"

"I think so." Lacus replied. Though Kira wasn't entirely sure he believed her when he noticed that her shirt was torn. "Where are we though?"

"Don't know." Kira told her as he took another look around. "I'm not even sure how we got here. But at least we're both all right…. You are fine, aren't you Lacus?"

"I just told you I was." Lacus insisted with a smile that Kira felt was insincere.

"Then why is the top of your dress torn?" Kira inquired.

At that moment, Lacus suddenly broke down in tears. She threw herself at Kira, toppling them both to the ground that did or did not exist in the dimension they had found themselves in, sobbing into his chest. Kira wondered just what had happened while Lacus was captive that had caused her to break down, but then an image had popped into his mind of Cha-Cathock fondling Lacus with his tentacles. Understanding what had happened, Kira held onto Lacus tightly and reassuringly stroked the back of her head. Kira had even begun to cry a bit himself. It hurt him to see Lacus so sad and vulnerable.

The couple remained like that for quite a long time, even after Lacus had calmed down. Though just how much time had passed, Kira could not say. Time almost seemed to stand still where they were. However long it was, it was long enough for Lacus to doze off. Kira then began to think about all that had happened to bring him and Lacus to where they were at that moment. Not just about Le Creuset's miraculous resurrection or the fact that both he and Lacus had encountered living, breathing aliens, but about the mistakes he had made that probably brought them to that point. Kira felt that if he hadn't given in to the marriage regulations of the PLANTs he would've been able to protect Lacus.

_'Shinn was right, I'm such an idiot.'_ Kira thought to himself.

"You're not an idiot." Lacus spoke as she suddenly woke up, greatly surprising Kira.

"What the…? Lacus, how did you know what I was thinking?" Kira asked as he sat up.

"Huh? You mean you didn't actually say that just now?" Lacus asked, looking equally surprised.

"No, I was just thinking it." Kira confirmed. Lacus then looked into Kira's eyes.

_'Can you hear what I'm thinking?'_ Lacus' voice asked inside Kira's head.

_'Yeah, I can.'_ Kira thought back, realizing the connection that they seemed to have. _'What's going on here?'_

_'I don't know, and right now I don't care.'_ Lacus telepathically replied as she cuddled back up to Kira. _'I'm just happy we can talk like this. It makes me feel closer to you.'_

_'I feel the same way.'_ Kira agreed.

_'But you're not the idiot here Kira.'_ Lacus continued. _'I am for saying that we should go along with the marriage regulations of the PLANTs.'_

_'You did that for the good of the PLANTs.'_ Kira pointed out. _'But… maybe I should've fought for you. Then maybe none of this would've happened.'_

_'None of this is your fault Kira.'_ Lacus insisted. _'Ever since the Clyne Colony was destroyed it seems like I've been making one bad decision after another. And eventually I just started to give in to the rest of the council on what to do. I just went along with them as they led us further down the path of war. I guess now I know how Cagalli must've felt when she first ran Orb.'_

_'You were only trying to do what was best for the PLANTs.'_ Kira pointed out. _'And I guess maybe I was too. But maybe we just sacrificed too much.'_

_'Maybe.'_ Lacus agreed. _'But when I was being held captive… I was afraid that you wouldn't come to rescue me after I had… cast you aside.'_

_'Lacus, I would never do anything like that.'_ A very shocked Kira assured her. _'Sure it hurt me when you decided to go along with the marriage regulations, but I'll always love you no matter what. And I would do anything to save you if you were in danger.'_

_'Oh Kira.'_ Lacus thought tearfully.

At that moment, both could sense a need within the other. And they instantly became locked in a passionate kiss. Their tongues mingled until their lungs cried out for air and they were forced to break apart. Kira took the opportunity though to begin kissing Lacus' neck and move to her collarbone, earning soft moans from the pink-haired songstress. Eventually Kira removed what was left of Lacus's top along with her bra, exposing her magnificent breasts. He massaged those breasts as they once again became locked in another opened mouth kiss.

Before either of them knew it, after an uncertain amount of time had passed, both of them were naked, though Lacus still had her gold wing-shaped hairclip. Kira got on top of Lacus, and as he slid his hardened rod into her something wonderfully unexpected happened. In addition to the feeling of sliding himself into Lacus' opening, Kira also felt what Lacus was experiencing, what she felt having his rod inside of her. And somehow he knew that Lacus was experiencing the same phenomenon. It was quite amazing to say the least.

Kira went slow at first, as it was taking both of them a bit to get used to this experience. It was hardly their first time, as they had done it once aboard the Eternal after the final battle of the second war. But this was a completely new experience for the both of them. As time went on though, Kira picked up the pace, and before long Lacus locked her legs around Kira's waist and grabbed onto his shoulders. Once that had happened, something exploded in their minds and their pupils dilated. Both Kira and Lacus had gone into SEED mode, and when that happened their psychic bond intensified. The sensations they were feeling intensified and they could see themselves in addition to each other, as if they were looking at themselves through the other's eyes.

They were also seeing bits of each other's memories. It was as if their minds had somehow become one. The couple continued to go at it for quite some time, though how long they could not say. But it had felt like an eternity since they began. Their bodies had become covered in sweat. At long last they could feel that they were getting close to the edge. Yet it seemed to be taking them a very long time to get there. The couple felt locked in a sort of paradox, feeling that they might go mad if they didn't reach their peak soon, yet wanting the experience to last as long as possible. But one eternity later, they both climaxed, quite hard. And as each felt both their own orgasm and their partner's, everything went white and they passed out.

* * *

Kira woke up to find himself in a bed with white sheets under a blue star-filled sky. Lacus was still asleep and cuddled up next to him. Kira instantly remembered the transcendent experience that he and Lacus shared before passing out. He did wonder just how the two of them had ended up in the bed they were in, but decided it could wait for a while. Lacus looked far too peaceful to disturb. In time though, Lacus slowly stirred awake and looked at Kira.

_'Hey there.'_ Lacus greeted telepathically.

_'Hey.'_ Kira greeted back as he kissed Lacus on the forehead. _'Did you sleep well?'_

_'Uh-huh.'_ Lacus replied. She then realized that their surroundings were quite different. _'Where are we now?'_

_'No clue.'_ Kira answered as both he and Lacus sat up to take a better look around.

The couple quickly found that there was once again no evidence of ground. It seemed that the bed they were in was floating through space. To their right they saw a white wooden door that did not seem attached to any wall. There was a similar door right across the bed only a few feet away. Suddenly a familiar pink ball-shaped robot bounced up onto the foot of the bed, which both Lacus and Kira recognized as Lacus' faithful Haro, Mr. Pink. It was soon joined by Kira's Birdy, which perched itself atop the gold barred headboard of the bed.

_'What are these two doing here?'_ Lacus wondered.

"Haro!" Mr. Pink cried as it bounced off the bed and went over to the door on the other side of the abstract room.

Kira got out of bed and walked over to the door. Upon opening it he found what looked to be a closet filled with white clothes.

_'I guess we should get dressed now.'_ Kira suggested.

_'Good idea.'_ Lacus agreed.

A few minutes later, after Kira went through the closet and picked out appropriate attire for both of them, the couple had finally covered themselves. Lacus ended up with a simple white dress and sandals, while Kira had put on a pair of white shoes, white jeans, and a white long-sleeved buttoned shirt. He left the top two buttons undone, revealing some of his chest. Once they had gotten dressed, Mr. Pink bounced over to the other door. The couple followed the small pink robot over and Kira opened the door. On the other side, they found what looked like a road made of white light. Suddenly, Birdy flew off out through the door over the road.

"Follow." Mr. Pink said as it bounced after Birdy.

After shrugging to one another, Lacus and Kira decided to follow the two mechanical pets down the road. They followed the path for what seemed like several minutes until finally coming to a fountain made out of a sort of white crystal. Gathered together near this fountain in small groups were tall slender figures that looked as if they were made of white light. They did not seem to have faces, or at least none that Lacus and Kira could make out. The couple could not even tell if they were male or female. But they were wearing what looked to be transparent white robes. As soon as Mr. Pink bounced up in Lacus' hands and Birdy perched itself on Kira's shoulder, five of the figures noticed the couple's arrival and approached them.

"Be not afraid Lacus Clyne, Kira Yamato. We mean you know harm." The center figure in the group spoke in a soothing male voice. "I'm sure you must have many questions."

"Who are you?" Kira asked, proving the being to be right. "And what is this place?"

"We… are the Zsagel." Answered the being in the center. "And right now you are in our realm, the Domain of Light."

"So… was that thing, the Dogu, sent by all of you?" Kira asked.

"The objects you know as Dogu are what you might call mechanical probes, which we created to observe and if necessary interact with other worlds." The Zsagel on the far right explained in an elderly male voice. "The primitive people from your world saw many of these probes and made replicas out of clay."

"The Dogu you found in your office was sent by us to observe you, and if necessary provide rescue if necessary." The middle right Zsagel continued, speaking in a young high-pitched male voice. "During your battle with Rau Le Creuset when it looked like the two of you would be destroyed, the Dogu's protection program activated and sent you into what we call, the Light of Creation."

"It is because of your time in the Light of Creation that your latent mental abilities have now been fully awakened, allowing you to share a telepathic bond." Explained the Zsagel on the far left in the voice of a kindly old woman.

"But why protect us?" Lacus asked. "Why bring us here?"

"Because the two of you are vital to the continuation of the human race." The middle left Zsagel said in a young female voice.

"It was no mere coincidence that the two of you were drawn together." The lead Zsagel continued. "Fate led you to one another so that you may lead the human race into the future."

"That is why we could not allow neither the flawed laws of your society, nor the actions of those who wish to create war and destroy humanity to tear your union asunder." Said the elderly male Zagel. "For you are the True Coordinators."

"But how can you think that after all the mistakes we've made?" Lacus pointed out. "Despite everything we tried to do, the war only continued to get worse."

"Only because the Yulock and Rau Le Creuset interfered with your actions." The elderly female Zsagel reminded them. "You both had been fighting a battle you had no knowledge was going on. And because you did not know, you were losing. And thus you had lost faith in yourselves."

"But now that you know more of what you are up against, you must set the human race back on the proper path." The lead Zsagel added. "If you do not, there will be no future for the human race, or for your progeny."

"Wait, what do you mean progeny?" Kira interrupted. At this the Zsagel looked at each other for a moment, as if hesitant to answer.

"You both must understand that we did not influence you while you were in the Light of Creation." The young female Zsagel began. "But what did occur in the light was what we had hoped would happen."

"We still don't understand." Lacus told them.

"When two beings deeply in love with one another, as you two are, share of each other within the Light of Creation, as you two did, life is formed where it might normally not be." The lead Zsagel finally explained.

"Hold on!" Kira exclaimed as he suddenly realized what the Zsagel were implying. "Are you saying that Lacus is pregnant?"

"Yes, and you are the father of that child." The elderly male Zsagel confirmed.

Both Kira and Lacus were utterly stunned by this news. It was so shocking that Kira had almost fainted. Before they were being forced to split up so that Lacus could have a child, but suddenly everything had turned around and they had become expectant parents.

"And now we will return you to your world." The center Zsagel said. "We will be watching, and give you aid if and when it is needed."

Suddenly Lacus and Kira were enveloped in a blinding flash of white light. When it faded, the couple found that they were in what looked like the living room of a small house. The lights in the room were off, suggesting that nobody was home.

_'Where are we now?'_ Lacus wondered.

_'I recognize this place.'_ Kira replied telepathically. _'This is Athrun's house in Orb.'_

Suddenly the door to the house opened and the lights came on. Standing in the doorway holding a full grocery bag was a very familiar young man with dark-blue hair that stopped short of his shoulder's and emerald eyes, wearing a brown jacket, yellow shirt, and black slacks.

Athrun dropped the grocery bag he was holding when he noticed Lacus and Kira standing there. "Kira… Lacus…"

"Uh, hey Athrun." Kira greeted. "I hope you don't mind that we dropped by."

"Where have the two of you been all this time?" Athrun asked with a hint of anger in his voice.

"That's a little hard to explain." Kira replied as he rubbed the back of his head.

"Hold on, what do you mean by 'all this time' Athrun?" Lacus asked.

"Don't pretend like you don't know what I'm talking about!" Athrun told them. "Where the hell have you both been for the past three months?"

* * *

**Author's Note:** So now we have another set of aliens in this story, the Zsagel. I had gotten the idea for the Zsagel after watching a few episodes of the original _Battlestar Galactica_ series from the late 70s. The episodes I'm referring to featured this rather mysterious race of aliens that traveled around in a glowing white ship that were supposed to be like angels or something similar.

Please review and let me know what you think.


	8. Gods and Devils

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Gundam SEED.

* * *

Chapter 8: Gods and Devils

Things had taken a very strange turn for Kira and Lacus, and things had already gotten strange enough. They had after all already encountered alien beings, confronted a masked psychopath who they had thought long dead, and spent time in an otherworldly dimension. Then after being returned to Earth and finding themselves in Athrun's house, the couple had learned from Athrun that they had been missing for three months. Not long after Athrun had come in, the three had sat down and Kira and Lacus began to tell him what had happened. Needless to say, Athrun had found their story a little on the unbelievable side.

"Do you honestly expect me to buy this?" Athrun exclaimed as he got back to his feet. "Aliens? Commander Le Creuset? Other dimensions?"

"I know how hard this must be to believe Athrun, but it is what happened." Kira calmly insisted.

"Athrun, do you really think that Kira and I are the kind of people to make a story like that?" Lacus pointed out.

"…No, of course not." Athrun admitted as he sat back down. "Sorry I reacted that way. Things have been pretty tense lately."

"Perhaps you should tell us what's been going on since we left." Lacus suggested.

"Right, of course." Athrun agreed. "I guess it all started about four days after you two disappeared. The PLANTs were still in an uproar and the chairman of the defense committee at the time, Ian Vargas, claimed that the council had received evidence that the Alliance was responsible for Lacus' abduction. The Alliance of course denied this, and the war started to go down hill after that. About two weeks after this 'evidence' was introduced, Vargas became the new chairman of the PLANT Supreme Council."

"_Vargas_ is in charge of the PLANTs now?" a very shocked Kira exclaimed.

"Yeah, and the moment he took office he's been fanning the flames of the war." Athrun gravely confirmed. "All in the name of avenging Lacus and all the people who died when the Clyne Colony was destroyed. It's been like in the first war all over again. Orb has been on high alert for the past month and a half."

"How's Cagalli been doing since all this happened?" Kira asked.

"About as well as you'd expect." Athrun answered. "And your disappearance hasn't helped much."

"Maybe we should all go see her tomorrow." Lacus suggested.

Before anyone could respond, both Kira and Athrun heard the sound of a twig snap outside the open window in the room. Suddenly Athurn noticed the red dot from a laser site shining on the side of Lacus' head.

"Lacus, get down!" Athrun cried.

Within less then a second, Kira dove at Lacus and knocked her out of the couch she was sitting in and down to the floor. A single bullet flew through the window and hit the wall a moment later.

"Are you okay?" Kira asked.

"I think so." A very startled Lacus answered.

Athrun meanwhile had dove to the floor and went over to a small metal box he kept near the door under a table. As quickly as he could, Athrun unlocked the box and retrieved a gun. He crawled over to the open window and as fast as he could, got back up and fired two shots outside in the hope of hitting the sniper.

"We have to get out of here!" Athrun told the other two. "Go out the back! I'll be right behind you!"

Kira and Lacus got up and ran towards the back door through the kitchen, followed closely by Birdy and Mr. Pink. Athrun fired two more shots out the window before running after them. Soon all three had gotten outside behind the back of the house. But before they could get very far, three men in black suits carrying guns blocked their path. Six other armed gentlemen soon showed up and the trio found themselves surrounded.

"Nice try, but not good enough." One of men standing in front of them said. "You might wanna say your prayers."

Just as the men were about to pull their triggers, a flash went off in both Kira and Lacus' minds and they felt a familiar presence. Suddenly a figure wearing mostly white jumped out of the bushes behind the three men in black and tackled the one in the middle to the ground, knocking him out in the process. In a flash, the attacker jumped back to his feet, delivered a roundhouse kick to the stomach of the armed man on his right, followed by an uppercut to remaining thug's jaw. Both Kira and Lacus quickly recognized who the attacker was.

"Gar?" a surprised Kira asked.

"It is good to see you again sir." Gar greeted after quickly turning to face them.

"You don't have to be so formal with him big bro!" a female voice called down. "You're not pretending to be his aid anymore ya know!"

Everyone, including the remaining thugs, looked up and saw standing on the roof of the house under the moonlight a young woman who stood at about four and a half feet tall and looked to be in her very early twenties. She had short blonde hair that looked like spun gold and iron-grey eyes. The young woman was wearing an outfit similar to Gar's. Only it included an odd silver hammer-shaped pendant that hung around her neck.

"Who's that?" Kira wondered.

"I've seen her before." Athrun recalled. "That's Cagalli's secretary, Tara."

"Get her!" one of the thugs ordered.

As soon as the men in black began to fire up at the roof, Tara leapt off, flipped around in the air, and delivered a powerful flying kick to one of the thugs. She then tackled the thug on her right to the ground and knocked him out with her fist. Before the thug on her left could fire a shot, the blonde jumped up and kicked the gun out of his hand.

"You guys better run while you can." Tara warned the remaining thugs. "Otherwise I might start to get mad."

"Yeah right! Like we're afraid of a little girl like you." Laughed a bald thug standing only a few feet away. Tara's expression twisted into one of murderous rage at the remark.

"What… did you… just call me?" Tara asked through gritted teeth. Gar sighed heavily as she clutched the pendant around her neck. In a flash of gold light, the pendant had changed into an odd sledgehammer with a head made out of a sort of strange silver metal and a short gold handle. "TASTE THE POWER OF MJOLNIR YOU ASSHOLES!"

The blonde slammed the hammer into the ground with such force that it sent a wave of earth at the remaining thugs, sending them five feet into the air. Tara walked away towards Kira and the others as the men in black hit the ground, grumbling to herself as the hammer she held turned back into a pendant.

"Tara, don't you think you went a little overboard?" Gar asked the young woman as he crossed his arms.

"Those jerks were asking for it!" Tara replied as she put the pendant back around her neck. "Besides, it's not like I called down a bunch of lightning bolts to zap them."

"Who are you people?" Athrun interrupted.

"There will be time to explain that later Athrun Zala." Gar answered. "Right now we must retreat to a safer location."

"Hey Atrhun, isn't Mu and Murrue's place near here?" Kira recalled. "We could stay there for the night at least."

"Yeah, but I'm not sure we can trust these two." Athrun pointed out as he gave Tara and Gar a suspicious look.

"Really? You say that after my brother and I just wiped the floor with the guys who're about to kill you?" Tara asked, sounding rather offended.

"How can we be expected to trust you when you're not who you say you are?" Atrhun argued. "You're clearly not the shy secretary Cagalli has working for her."

"It's called undercover work, genius!" Tara shot back. "It's the only way my brother and I could keep an eye on things without the guys who're really trying to kill you getting wise!"

"Tara, calm yourself." Gar ordered. "We cannot afford to waste time arguing about such things."

"It's okay Athrun, we can trust them." Kira assured him. "Gar helped me out when I was fighting Le Creuset. He helped Lacus too."

"Kira, are you sure?" Athrun asked.

"If they wanted to kill us, they would've done it already." Kira pointed out.

"…Okay then." Athrun finally agreed.

* * *

Mu and Murrue had just finished dinner and were getting ready to spend the rest of the evening watching a movie. Just as the couple had sat down on the couch, there was a knock on the door.

"Who could that be at this hour?" Murrue wondered.

"Probably Mrs. McGreevy from down the road with more of those god awful muffins of hers." Mu assumed as he got up. "Those damn things are like rocks."

"She means well." Murrue pointed out. "Besides, once we get enough of those muffins, we can finally repave the driveway."

Mu went over to open the door and was very surprised to see who was on the other side. "Kira?"

"Hey Mu." Kira greeted. "Mind if we all come in?"

Once Kira and the others had come inside, Kira and Lacus told the La Flagas about everything that had told Atrhun earlier that evening. A sort of pause fell over the room once the younger couple had finished.

"…That's a… pretty unbelievable story." Murrue finally spoke.

"I thought so too when I heard it." Athrun admitted. "But it is the only thing that explains what's going on. Besides, Kira and Lacus aren't the kind of people to make up a story like that."

"As strange as this story sounds, I believe it." Mu admitted. He then looked at Gar and Tara. "But there is one thing though. How do you two fit in?"

"I'm Tara Thorson, and most of you already know my brother, Gar." Tara introduced. "We're with the CIA."

"Do you really expect us to believe that?" Athrun snapped. "The Central Intelligence Agency hasn't been around for years!"

"Central what?" Tara asked with a raised eyebrow.

"The Central Intelligence Agency. It was a covert organization that was part of the United States government before being absorbed into the Atlantic Federation's greater intelligence network." Gar explained. "Didn't you read the briefing on this planet before we got here?"

"I skimmed it." Tara told him. "Well, the pages with the pictures at least. That briefing was as long as a novel. Besides, there isn't anything about Earth that we don't already know from our ancestors."

"Your lack of knowledge on the Central Intelligence Agency would prove otherwise." Gar pointed out.

"Oh please, like knowing a bit of historical trivia is vital to our mission." Tara argued. "Sometimes you take things way too seriously big brother."

"You two aren't from Earth, are you?" Kira deduced.

"That is correct sir." Gar confirmed. "The full name of our organization is the Celestial Intervention Agency. And it is made up of people from several different worlds."

"Just what is the purpose of this agency of yours?" Lacus asked.

"To observe primitive developing worlds and monitor for any threats to the natural development of that world's society." Gar explained. "And if such threats occur, we eliminate them and try our best to correct the damage."

"Think of it like this, say you have some planet that's people are at a level of development similar to your world's Bronze Age." Tara interjected. "Then say there's some big shot alien comes to that planet and pretends to be a god in order to exploit those poor people. Our job is to step in, kick that alien's butt or whatever it sits on, and then do our best to repair the damage it caused."

"And so you're saying that these other aliens, the Yulock, are trying to do the same to our world." Mu deduced.

"Correct, I'm afraid." Gar confirmed gravely. "Your people were finally on the verge of a lasting peace until the Yulock came. They used their agent, Rau Le Creuset, to spark a new war, thus setting your people back a great deal. Our mission now is to find a way to get rid of the Yulock and end the war."

"Are the Zsagel part of this group of yours?" Kira asked, remembering the aliens from the Domain of Light.

"Nah, those guys are way beyond even us." Tara replied. "Nobody really knows much about them, except that they seem to be a force of good. But the truth is, they made our mission way easier."

"What do you mean?" Kira asked.

"Part of our mission was to get you and Chairwoman Clyne back together so that you may lead the human race." Gar admitted. "Unfortunately that part of the mission was proving far more difficult than I realized."

"I still say I should've taken that part of the mission." Tara cut in. "I had the perfect plan."

"Getting them together and intoxicated was far from the perfect plan." Gar told her.

"Well it was a better plan than whatever it was you were trying to do." Tara argued. "Either way it doesn't matter. Not only are those two back together, our Ms. Clyne is now pregnant. It's more than we could've hoped for."

"Wait, you're pregnant Lacus?" a startled Athrun asked.

"Oh, yes. Kira and I forgot to mention that part I guess." Lacus replied. "I suppose it still hasn't sunk in yet. And before all of you ask, Kira is the father."

"I see…" Athrun replied. "Well then, congratulations I guess."

"Thanks." Kira and Lacus said together.

"Okay then, so you two are really aliens." Athrun continued, turning back to Gar and Tara.

"Yep, we may look like you guys, but we're pretty different physically." Tara confirmed. "For one thing we age a lot slower than you. Go ahead, guess how old I am."

"Uh, a thousand?" Kira guessed rather jokingly.

A furious expression came to Tara's face. "WHY THE HELL ARE THEY ALWAYS OVER WHEN I ASK THEM TO GUESS?" Tara yelled as she scooped up the flowerpot on the coffee table and threw it in Kira's direction. "I'm only two-hundred and fifty-three, you jerk!"

"Sorry." A frightened Kira quickly apologized.

Mu chuckled and shook his head. "Should've kept your mouth shut kid. Or at least guessed a much lower number."

"I am only four years older than Tara." Gar interjected. "But as you can see, we look far younger."

"That hammer Tara used when you fought those men, she called it Mjolnir." Athrun recalled. "I remember reading that name in mythology once. It was the name of the hammer used by the Norse God, Thor."

"You are correct Athrun Zala, Mjolnir at one time was the hammer of Thor." Gar confirmed. "The mythological beings you know as the Norse Gods were actually people from our home world. They came to this planet while fighting a great war, and inadvertently became known as gods to the primitive cultures of the time and region they appeared. Tara and I are descendants of Thor, and by extension his father, Odin."

"And that's why Tara has that hammer?" Kira asked.

"Yep, I sort of inherited it." Tara confirmed. "And before you ask, the thing's not magic. It's a level of technology that's a little beyond anything you might understand."

"How did you inherit it, if you don't mind me asking." Kira inquired.

"In a way nobody ever expected." Gar sighed as he rubbed the bridge of his nose.

* * *

_Fifty years before on the planet known as Asgard, Gar, who at the time was wearing a gold tunic and brown leather pants stood in a stone cathedral-like room before a short pedestal that had Mjolnir on it. On the far wall on the other side of the room was a large portrait of a man with long red hair and a beard. This of course was a portrait of Gar's honored ancestor, Thor. Entering the room was a muscular man who was about eight feet tall with short black hair and a beard, wearing a sleeveless grey shirt and black pants._

_"So you actually showed up, eh cousin Gar?" said the tall man with an amused expression._

_"It is my duty as a member of the family, cousin Volkav." Gar replied. "Our grandfather requested that I come. And as he is the elder of our family, I have no right to refuse."_

_"Funny, I didn't think you wanted any part of this test." Volkav noted. "Not that it matters though. There's no way you'll be able to wield Mjolnier."_

_At that moment, an old man with a long white beard wearing golden robes entered the room. He walked slowly with a long gnarled wooden staff and had a solemn expression. Gar and Volkav bowed reverently to the old man as he walked up behind the pedestal._

_"Gar, Volkav, it is good to see you both here on this day." The old man greeted._

_"It is an honor to be here, grandfather." Volkav replied._

_"Long ago near the end of our great war with the Jotunn, our noble ancestor Thor died in great and terrible battle." Gar's grandfather began. "With his last breath before dying, Thor encoded his hammer, Mjolnir, so that it may only be wielded by members of his line. But only by the members of his line who can use the hammer's full power. Only those of our family who can lift the hammer are the ones who can wield it. Which is why the two of you have come here today, to see if you are worthy of our ancestor's legacy. Now then, which of you wishes to try to lift the hammer first?"_

_"I shall go first, grandfather." Volkav volunteered._

_"I had a feeling you would offer yourself first, Volkov." Gar's grandfather replied. "You have always been eager to prove yourself. Very well, but be aware that though your body is strong, you may not be the one."_

_"We'll see about that." Volkov scoffed._

_Gar's burly cousin walked over to the pedestal and grabbed onto the handle of the hammer. He gave the handle a strong pull, but could not lift it. Volkov tried using both hands, but the sacred hammer still would not move. After what seemed like five minutes, a red-faced Volkov finally let go._

_"It seems that you were not worthy, Volkov." Gar's grandfather observed. "A shame, but it is how it is. It is now your turn to try, Gar."_

_"With all due respect, grandfather, I still do not believe I am the one to wield Mjolnier." Gar admitted._

_"And why is that, my boy?" Gar's grandfather asked._

_"While it is a great honor to wield the hammer of our ancestor, I have never felt that it is within my destiny." Gar answered. "I've just never had any desire for it."_

_"Hmm… your reluctance is interesting, Gar." His grandfather noted. "It has been the dream of every member of our family to wield Mjolnir. But perhaps the one who wishes not to wield the hammer is the one who is most worthy to wield it."_

_"I say it's pointless to try, grandfather." Volkov commented. "If I can't pick it up, there's no way Gar can. But go ahead and try Gar. That is why you're here, isn't it?"_

_Hesitantly, Gar approached the pedestal and looked at the hammer. And just as he was about to reach for the handle, the large doors to room slammed open behind Gar. Gar and his two family members turned to see Tara standing in the doorway wearing a strapless gold mini-dress and heels. A goofy expression was on her face._

_"What's goin' on here, a funeral?" a clearly drunk Tara asked._

_"Tara, your mother said you were attending a friend's wedding celebration." Her grandfather spoke._

_"That, that party got to be a real drag, granddad." Tara replied as she staggered in. "Why's everyone so serious? Oh, it's that hammer thing, right?"_

_"Tara, you're drunk!" Gar exclaimed._

_"What? I'm not, I'm not drunk." Tara laughed. "I only had, let's see, one, two, three… fifty glasses of ale. Oh wait, I guess I am drunk. But I'm, I'm not as think as you drunk, I mean drunk as you think I am. Go on with your thing, don't, don't mind me."_

_"Gar was about to try and lift Mjolnir." Volkav informed his drunken cousin. "Not that he'll be able to."_

_"Oh, and why, why is that, cousin?" Tara asked._

_"Because I couldn't lift it, which means Gar has no chance." Volkav smugly insisted._

_"Pfft, well of course you couldn't lift the thing." Tara replied. "You probably need a brain to use it, which is why Gar… is… perfect for this."_

_"As if a scrawny weakling like him could wield the hammer of our forefather." Volkav scoffed._

_"Are, are you gonna take that from this oaf, big brother?" Tara asked. "Go ahead and grab that hammer and whack him upside the head with it."_

_"Your brother is reluctant to try and lift the hammer." Gar and Tara's grandfather admitted._

_"Probably because he's afraid of showing just how weak he really is." Volkov taunted._

_"Oh that is it, brother! You, you gotta do it now." Tara declared. "Did you, did you hear what that oaf just did? He called you out. You, you gotta do it now. Go on, lift that thing and knock that smug grin off Volkov's face!"_

_"Yes, go on Gar. See if you have what it takes to wield the hammer and face me." Volkav dared._

_"I have no wish to fight you, Volkav." Gar told him._

_"Yes, because you're afraid." Volkav taunted._

_"Look, I'll show you how it's done, brother." Tara said as she staggered over to the pedestal. "All you gotta do is grab the thing," she continued as she grasped the handle, "and give it one big yank."_

_With that yank, Tara lifted the hammer from its hallowed resting place, causing the jaws of her relatives to drop, even Gar's. Her grandfather was so stunned that he dropped his walking stick. With the drunken haze over her mind, it took Tara a moment to realize just what she had done._

_"You… you lifted Mjolnir!" their grandfather exclaimed._

_"Impossible!" Volkov declared. "How can this be?"_

_"Oh wow, I guess you gotta be hammered to wield the hammer. Get it?" Tara laughed._

* * *

"…That afternoon is still a blur to me." Tara admitted in the present. Kira and the others were simply stunned.

"After that day, Tara began her training to wield Mjolnir." Gar continued. "As for me, I began a different sort of training, and eventually I was called again by our grandfather to see if I could wield the spear of Odin, Gungnir, which I was able to do. Ten years later, Tara and I joined the CIA to put our abilities to good use."

"Well I guess that explains who the two of your two are, but what about these other aliens, the Yulock?" Murrue asked. "Who or what are they?"

"The Yulock are one of the most insidious races in the Galaxy." Gar explained. "They often ignore interstellar laws to get what they want. And all they want from the human race is your death and your planet."

"The Yulock usually work like this." Tara continued. "They find a primitive world and start a war between its inhabitants, making both sides think it was the other side's fault. Then they cause the war to escalate until both sides are dead. After that, the Yulock move in and take the planet for themselves."

"How horrible!" Lacus commented.

"So now these Yulock are running this scheme with Earth and the PLANTs." Athrun realized.

"Yes, and they have help." Gar revealed. "Very often, the Yulock will recruit natives of the planet they wish to procure in order to fan the flames of the planet's war."

"You mean like Rau Le Creuset." Kira noted, his eyes narrowing at the thought of the masked man.

"Rau Le Creuset is a bit different. The Yulock seem to think of him as one of their own kind." Gar commented. "You are correct though sir, he is one such example. But the agents I speak of are humans that have been promised things such as power, wealth, and long life in exchange for helping to bring the downfall of their own people. And after witnessing what has transpired in the last three months, I am certain that Ian Vargas is such an agent."

"That would seem to fit." Athrun agreed. "But I'm guessing he's not the only one, is he?"

"Nope, some of the guys running the Alliance are probably agents too." Tara confirmed. "And a few military officers on both sides, and maybe even some politician's secretary. They could be in your media too."

"Unfortunately, Vargas is the only agent we're sure of." Gar informed them.

"So what do you suggest we do about this?" Lacus asked.

"At the moment, we don't know." Gar replied. "And there is another problem that must be considered as well."

"What other problem?" Kira asked, not liking where the conversation was headed.

"Sometimes, when the Yulock find a primitive world with fairly advanced weapons technology, like Earth, they use that technology to their advantage." Tara explained. "They give the inhabitants bits of their own technology so the poor suckers can use it to augment their weapons. Then when it's all over, they take whatever new weapons were created from the war and sell on the interstellar black market to the highest bidder."

"So they're using us to build new weapons too?" an outraged Lacus asked.

"Yes, and they may have already done so." Gar gravely confirmed. "This war has been going on for quite some time now. It may only be a matter of time before such weapons are deployed on the battlefield."

"This whole thing is way worse than I thought it was." An overwhelmed Kira spoke.

"And the big question is still how to stop these guys." Mu pointed out.

"…I think Athrun, Kira, and myself should go see Cagalli with Mr. Gar and Ms. Tara." Lacus decided after a moment. "Perhaps she could provide some way to help."

"At the very least, the Athha mansion will be a far more secure location." Gar agreed. "But I suggest we wait until morning to travel."

"In the meantime, the five of you can stay here for the night." Murrue offered.

"That would be great." Kira agreed. "Thanks."

* * *

The hour had grown late. Yet Kira and Lacus were still both wide awake in their small room at the La Flaga house. The two of them were still trying to take all that had just learned from Gar and Tara.

_'So what's the plan after we get to Cagalli's?'_ Kira asked telepathically.

_'I don't know. We've never faced anything like this before.'_ Lacus answered. _'…I'm actually pretty scared, Kira.'_

_'I am too.'_ Kira admitted. _'But we're not alone in this. We have Gar and sister, not to mention Athrun and Cagalli. And we have each other too. We'll find a way to stop all this somehow.'_

_'Yes, you're right. Now that we have each other again, we can find away to stop this threat and save our future.'_ Lacus agreed. _'We have to, especially now that we have our child to think about.'_

_'Yeah, but for now we should get some rest.'_ Kira suggested. _'Goodnight.'_

_'Goodnight Kira.'_ Lacus replied.

With that, the two of them finally managed to fall asleep in one another's arms. In that sleep the found the sanctuary that allowed them to forget about the abominable chaos lurking behind the war, at least for a single night.

END OF BOOK 1

* * *

**Afterward:** So this is pretty much where I should've ended the first part of the story when I did it originally. I apologize is this first book is a bit too short. But don't worry, this story is far from over. The reason it has to end here though is because Kira and Lacus are going to step out of the spotlight for a bit. They'll both be in the next story of course, but it'll be in more of a supporting role. The next "book" will focus more on Athrun and Cagalli, as well as a certain pair of ZAFT pilots.

So for now, stay tuned for **Nemesis Book 2: The Devil Gundams**

In the meantime, please review and let me know what you think.


End file.
